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Price, 20 Cents. 




THE TRADESMAN'S PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

Tribune Building, 

New York C i t \- . 



Grocers' Goods: 

A KAMILY GUIDE 

TO THE PURCHASE OF 

Flour, Sugar, Tea, Coffee, Spices, 
Canned Goods, Cigars, Wines, 

AND ALL OTHER ARTICLES 

XJsT_ia.lly Foianci in American Grocery 
Stores. 



By F\ B. GODDARD. 

Copyrighted 1888. r' - > • 



O 




APR 25 1888 



'>^ /oyio .-^ 



r 



THE TRADESMEN'S PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

Tribvns Buildinq, 
NEW YORK CITY. 



\\ 



<.^ 



Mil List of Grocers' Goofls. 



Housekeepers will find tliis list sug:- 
gestive and helpful in makings up orders 
for the Grocer, as well as useful for pag:e 



reference. 



Page. 

Adulterations 6 

Ale 62 

Allspice 41 

Almonds 50 

Apples 44 

Apple»i, Dried 48 

Artificial Butter 30 

A ^paragus 47 

Bacon 35 

Baking' Powders 16 

Bananas ^ 45 

Barley 13 

BatU Brick 58 

Beans 47-48 

Beef, Dried 35 

Beef, Fresh 34 

Beer 62 

Berries 45-49 

Beeswax 58 

Bird Seed 57 

Biscuit 16 

Blacking 5'J' 

Blended Tea 24 

Bluing 55 

Brandies 63 

Brazil Nuts 50 

Bread 15 

Brooms 56 

Brushes 56 

Buck^w^lieat 14 

Burgundy Wines 60-64 

Butter 28 

Butterlne 80 



4-' 



Page. 

Cabbage j 46 

California Wines 61-64 



37 



38 



Candies 

Candles 

Canned Goods 

" Meals 

" Fish 

*' Vegetables 

" Fruits 

Cans, Tin 38 

Capers 43 

Carrots 47 

Cassia and Buds 41 

Catsups 44 

Cauliflow^er 47 

Celery 47 

Celery Salt 43 

Cereals 10 

Champagne 61 

Cheese 31 

Cherries 44 

Chicory 27 

Chocolate 27 

Cider 63 

Cigars 51 

Cigarettes 52 

Cinnamon 41 

Claret Wines 60-64 

Clothes Pins 56 

Cloves 41 

Cocoa 27 

Cocoanuts 45 

Cod Fish 35 

Coffee 24 



Page. 

Condensed Milk 28 

Condiments 39 

Cordials 64 

Corn 12 

Corn Starcli 12 

Crackers 16 

Cranberries 45 

Cream 28 

Cream of Tarter 16 

Cucumbers 47 

Currants 45-49 

Curry Po-^vders 41 

Dates 50 

Disinfectants 58 

Distilled Liquors 63 

Dried Fruits 48 

Eggs 33 

Egg Plant 48 

Essences 39 

Extracts 39 

Farinaceous Foods 14 

Feed, for Stock 15 

Figs 49 

Filberts 50 

Fisli 35 

Flavoring Extracts ;^9 

Flour 11 

Fruits 44 

" Domestic 44 

" Tropical 45 

** Dried 48 

" Brandy 39 

" Canned: 39 

Fruit Butter 39 

Garlic 47 

Gelatine 39 

Gin 64 

Ginger 40 

Ginger Ale 63 

Glucose 18 

Gooseberries 45 

Grabam Flour 12 

Grapes 44 

Greens 48 

Green Corn 47 



Page. 

Groats 14 

Grocers' Sundries 58 

Halibut 53 

Ham 85 

Herbs 39 

Herring 35 

Hints to Housekeepers.... 8 

Hominy 13 

Honey 19 

Horseradish 43 

Insect Po^vder 58 

Isinglass 39 

Jams 39 

Japan Tea 24 

Jellies.. 38 

Koumiss 28 

Ketchup 44 

Imager Beer 62 

L.ard 33 

licmons 45 

Lentils , 4R 

madeira Wine 64 

Maccaroni 17 

Mackerel 35 

Malt liiquors 62 

Mace 41 

Maple Sugar 18 

" Syrup 18 

Marmelades 39 

Matches 57 

Meal 12 

Meat Extracts 36 

Meats, Canned 37 

«' Fresh 34 

" Smoked 35 

Melons 48 

Milk 9-28 

Mineral IVaters 64 

Molasses 19 

Mops 56 

Mustard 40 

Mutton 34 



Page. 

Nuts 50 

Nutmegs 41 

Oatmeal 13 

Oil, Salad 43 

Olives 43 

Oleomargarine — 30 

Onions 47 

Oranges 45 

Oyster Plant 48 

Pails 58 

Parsnips 47 

Pea Nuts 50 

Peaches 44 

" Dried 49 

Pears 44 

Pearl Barley 13 

Peas 47-48 

Pecan Nuts 50 

Pepper 40 

Pepper, Cayenne 40 

Pepper Sauce 44 

Pickles 43 

Pipes 51 

Pine Apples 45 

Plums 44-49 

Pork 34 

Porter G2 

Port AVIne 59-61 

Potatoes 40 

Poultry 34 

Preserves 38 

Prunes 49 

Radishes 47 

Kaisins 49 

Rice 14 

Rhine Wines 60-64 

Rhubarb 47 

Rum 64 

Rye Flour 13 

Sago 15 

Salads 48 

Salad Dressings 43 

Saleratus 16 



Page. 

Salmon 35 

Salt 42 

Samp 13 

Sauces 43 

Seeds 57 

Shells 27 

Sherry Wine 59-61 

Shoe Dressing 57 

Snuff 53 

Soaps 53 

" Toilet 54 

" Shaving 54 

Soups Canned 37 

Soda 16 

Spaghetti 17 

Spices 39 

Squash 48 

Starch, liaundry 55 

Stove Polish 57 

Stout 64 

Stra^vberries 45 

Sugar 17 

Sundries 58 

Sweet Potatoes 46 

Syrups 19 

Tamarinds 50 

Tapioca 15 

Tea 21 

Tobacco, Chewing 51 

" Smoking 51 

Tomatoes 47 

Tongues 36 

Turnips 47 

Veal 34 

Vegetables, Fresh 46 

'* Canned 38 

Vermicelli 17 

Vinegar 42 

Washboards 46 

W^ines and Liquors 59 

Wheat 10 

Whiskey 64 

Veast 16 



GROCERS' GOODS. 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 



In the ancient times of twenty-five or thirty years ago, the gro- 
cer's goods consisted chiefly of codfish, flour, sugar, tea, coffee, 
salt, molases and whale oil. There were also a little candy in 
glass jars, some nuts in bins, a few drums of figs and a box of sour 
oranges. The grocer himself found plenty of time to talk politics 
and play checkers across the counter with his friends and neigh- 
bors. Those were the days when a few conservative old 
merchants used to meet and discuss the tea market and allot 
among themselves the quantity to be imported, not a pound of 
which could arrive under twelve or fifteen months. 

But things have changed. The importer now flashes his ij)rder 
under the sea and on, over plains and through jungles to China. 
"Ocean tramp" steamships are waiting to receive his merchan- 
dise, and within thirty or forty days it may be sending up its 
grateful fragrance from tea tables in the Mississippi Valley. 

THE MODEieiV GROCER. 

Nor has the enterprising retail grocer of to-day failed to catch 
the spirit of this progress and keep even step with it. He has 
become the Popular Food Provider, and his store represents 
about everything which is palatable in either hemisphere or any 
zone. As the world has grown enlightened and refined, his 
stock has become more and more varied and better adapted to 
the wants of mankind, until it embraces every delicacy of the 
land, sea or air. 

His cunningly prepared sauces provoke the appetite and give 
zest to more substantial articles, while they help also to digest 
them. He has food fitted for the intellectual worker and for the 
laborer, for the invalid and for the infant. He practically anni- 



6 GROCERS GOODS : 

hilates the seasons and furnishes fruits and vegetables in mid- 
winter, as fresh and delicate as when first plucked from their 
native stems or vines. And, moreover, all the goods upon hi& 
sightly shelves are now put up in the most attractive, portable 
and convenient form for family use. 

Food. Never Before so Low. 

Nor would a day's wages ever before purchase so much of food 
products. In the English market, for the ten years from 1870 to 
1880, the price of wheat was forty- three per cent, higher than 
the average of 1886. Sugars have fallen in price nearly one-half 
in ten years, and teas, coffee, and many other articles are propor- 
tionately low. 

This is due to improvements in machinery, increased transpor- 
tation facilities and the opening up of new and fertile sections of 
the earth, under all of which the world's supply of food has of 
late years been greatly in excess of the world's increase in popu- 
lation; and it is the grocer who brings these advantages home to 
our families. 

Food Adulteration. 

There has long been an uneasy feeling lest many articles of 
food and drink were not only mixed with substances which re- 
duced their nutritive value, but were also often colored with 
cumulative poisons, and adulterated with substances injurious 
to health. 

These fears have not been altogether groundless. There can 
be no doubt that this monstrous crime has been practiced to some 
extent in respect to certain articles. But, thanks to the diffusion 
of intelligence, the teachings of science, the operation of law, the 
fear of detection and punishment, and largely, also, by the 
refusal of conscientious grocers to sell such unwholesome 
products; greedy and unscrupulous manufacturers have been 
compelled to abandon their vicious practices, and noxious food 
adulteration is now comparatively a rare crime. 

Those who desire pure articles can almost always obtain them 
of a reputable grocer by paying their value. But in order to 
supply the demand for cheaper goods and meet competition, such 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 7 

articles as powdered spices, etc., are extensively prepared, mixed 
with harmless substances, and containing the largest quantity of 
pure material which can be furnished at the price for which they 
are sold. Perhaps, also, such articles are more economical in the 
using, and admixtures are sometimes improvements. 
Adulteration Laws. 
Yet even this class of adulterated goods is objectionable, from 
the fact that there are always dealers who will be tempted to sell 
them as "Strictly pure," thus defrauding the purchaser, out- 
reaching honest rivals and losing their own self-respect. Prob- 
ably, therefore, most of the upright and leading grocers of the 
country would be glad to see wise and effective general laws 
passed against food adulterations, under which all could unite 
and be freed from unfair competition by the unscrupulous. But 
laws which will protect both the health and the pocket are 
difficult to frame and to execute without being sumptuary and 
oppressive. The most effectual and probably the best laws of the 
kind in this country at present are the enactments of Massachu- 
setts, New York, Ohio, New Jersey, and Michigan. 

liCss Adulteration than Commonly Supposed. 
The general Government is also moving in the matter. Last 
year (1887) three "Bulletins" were issued at Washington, which 
deal exhaustively with current adulterations of dairy products, 
spices, etc., and fermented beverages. These reports, made under 
direction of the Commissioner of Agriculture, were prepared 
respectively by Messrs. H. W. Wiley, C. Richardson, and C. A. 
Crampton, who state in substance that they found certain articles 
extensively adulterated, but generally with harmless materials. 

The president of the N. Y. Microscopical Society states that 
many members of that scientific body have looked into the 
alleged adulterations of food products and find them not as 
general as many suppose, and the adulterants found were in most 
cases harmless. 

At the recent "Health Exhibition," in England, Dr. Jas. 
Bell declared to the Conference, that, "In most articles of food 
there has been a very great improvement in recent years as regards 



8 grocers' goods: 

adulterations," and that the "gross and deleterious adulterants 
formerly used have been practically abandoned." This accords 
also with the recently expressed opinions of the eminent Dr. Has- 
sall and of many scientific investigators in this country. 
Hints to Housekeepers. 

As a rule, whole or unground articles are to be preferred to 
those which are powdered ; not only because they are less liable 
to adulteration, but also because the latter more quickly lose 
flavor and strength. 

This objection applies also lo buying goods in large quantities 
of wholesale dealers, for family use. This plan may appear to be 
economical, but is generally disadvantageous both to buyer and 
seller. Tea, aromatic and ground goods, and many other com- 
modities often deteriorate in quality before they are used. Ser- 
vants who can dip their hands into abundant supplies are apt to 
become more wasteful. If articles so purchased do not prove 
suitable, it is more trouble to exchange them than with the retail 
dealer who sells in smaller quantities and is in daily contact with 
his customers. And, besides, an honest man who studies the 
daily wants of the families of his community, and adapts his 
business to supplying them with good articles in convenient 
quantities and at fair prices, has a right to expect consideration 
and encouragement from his friends and neighbors. 
The Daily Food of a Model Man. 

A healthy man, weighing, say, one hundred and fifty-four 
pounds, consists of water one hundred and nine pounds, and of 
solid matter forty-five pounds. His blood weighs about twelve 
pounds, or, when dry, two pounds. The quantity of food sub- 
stances he should consume every day, and their relative pro- 
portions necessary to keep him vigorous and well, are stated by 

Prof. Johnston to be about as follows : 

lbs. oz. 

Water 5 8f 

Albumen, fibrin, gluten, etc 4^ 

Starch, sugar, etc 11-|^ 

Fat 3f 

Common salt f 

Phosphates, potash salts, etc i 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 



9 



If for a time tlae proper balance of constituents is not preserved 
in the food, even though the health may not appear affected, the 
laborer can do less work, a frail constitution is engendered and 
the person becomes more susceptible to disease. 
Variety in Food, 

If any constituent is deficient we must supply it; hence variety 

in food is not only agreeable but necessary to health. Albumen, 

fibrin, casein and gluten build up the muscles and tissues, while 

starch, sugar and fat produce the warmth and energy of the body. 

The mineral substances are necessary for the framework— the 

bones. Grains, fruits and vegetables contain starch and sugar 

and more or less gluten; meats contain fibrin and albumen; milk, 

casein, etc. • 

Beef and Bread 

have the following composition : 

Lean Wheaten 
beef. Bread. 

Water '7'7 40 

Fibrin or gluten 19 7 

Fat 3 1 

Starch 50 

Salt and other mmerals 1 2 

100 100 

This shows that the main difference between beef and bread is 
that the meat contains no starch, and nearly three times as much 
of the muscle making fibrin as the proportion of gluten (v/hich 
is similar in many respects) in wheaten bread. 

The water, climate, season, age, habits, etc., all have to do 
. with the choice of food we eat. Besides the quantity of nourish- 
ment contained in the food, there is also the question of the ease 
and completeness with which it can be digested and assimilated. 
It is not always fat eaters who are the fattest. 

]»ilk. 
Woman's milk is considered the type of human food when the 
conditions approach that of the child, as the milk of the mother 
is the natural food of all young animals. Milk partakes of the 
nature of both animal and vegetable food. It contains: 



10 «ROCERS' GOODS : 

Human Cow's 
milk. milk. 

Water 89i 87 

Casein. . If 4 

Butter or milk fat 2^ 3i 

Sugar of milk 6^ 4f 

Salts or ash i f 

100 100 

These are average analyses. The casein is equivalent to 

the gluten of vegetables or the fibrin of meat, and the sugar to 

starch. 

With these few general observations, let us pass on to consider 

in detail the Grocer's Goods. 



THE CEREALS. 



WHEAT. 

The cereal grains consist of solidified vegetable milk, drawn from 
the bosom of Mother Earth. But two of them all are used for mak- 
ing light and spongy bread with yeast, and wheat has the 
universal preference because it contains all the elements necessary 
to the growth, and sustenance of the body. It makes bread 
which is more inviting to the eye and more agreeable to the 
taste. It is the highest type of vegetable food known to man- 
kind, and it is claimed that the most enlightened nations of 
modern times owe their mental and bodily superiority to this 
great and beneficent product. 

There is little if any difference in the nutriment or value of 
spring and winter wheat. Some prefer the one and some the 
other. Southern raised wheat is apt to be drier than northern 
and will better stand the effects of warm climates. Wheat varies 
in weight per bushel as the season is wet or dry. The best is 
round, plump and smooth. It contains about fifteen parts of 
water, sixty-five to seventy-five parts of starch, and about tea 
parts of gluten. The average annual production of wheat in the 
United States during the past eight years has been 448,815,699 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 11 

bushels ; an increase over the preceding ten years of forty-four 
per cent., while the increase of population has been only twenty- 
five per cent. 

"Wheaten Flour, 

Wheat was formerly ground by mill stones, and the product 
bolted and sifted into the different grades. But during the last 
twelve years, this process has been largely superseded by the 
"Patent Roller" process of crushing and separating the flour 
from the bran. This is a great improvement over the old meth- 
od ; more flour is obtained from the wheat, and it is whiter, con- 
tains more gluten, and is therefore stronger 

The first consideration is the color or whiteness ; second, the 
quantity of gluten the flour contains. The eye determines the 
first, and a hasty test of the quantity and quality of the gluten 
may be made by squeezing some of the flour into a lump in the 
hand. This lump will more closely show the prints of the flngers, 
and will hold its form in handling with considerable more 
tenacity if the flour is good, than if it is inferior and deficient 
in gluten. 

Grocers and bakers test flour by smoothing a little out on a 
board with a knife or paper cutter, to see its color, and if it con- 
tains specks of bran, etc., which may show that it has not been 
well bolted or "dressed." To determine the quantity and 
strength of the gluten, they mix some of the flour with water, 
and judge by the tenacity of the dough — the length to 
which it may be drawn out by the flngers, or spread into a thin 
sheet. 

Injury to flour is shown most quickly in the gluten, which may 
lose its vitality. The gluten of good flour will swell to several 
times its bulk under a gentle heat, and give off the pleasant odor 
of hot bread, while the gluten from poor flour swells but little, 
becomes viscous or nearly fluid, and smells disagreeably. 
Points for Purchasers of Flour. 

As starch is whiter than gluten, whiteness is therefore really 
no indication of the sweetness and strength of flour; and, 
although flour becomes whiter with age and will take up more 
water and make a whiter loaf, many prefer freshly ground flour 



la grocers' goods : 

for family use, as being better in flavor, while others claim that 
flour will "work better" if kept for some time after grinding. 

The brand or word "Patent" on packages of flour has come 
to signify, not that the flour is really patented, but that it is or 
should be finest quality. Fancy brands may mean little ; they 
are put on at the whim of the maker. Flour is rarely adulterated 
at present, but good and poor grades are sometimes mixed. 
Inferior grades of flour are largely exported, while the best are 
mainly used at home. Graham flour is ground wheat from which 
the bran has not been removed. 

Flour is put up in barrels of one hundred and ninety-six pounds 
net weight, and in muslin sacks of various weights. Families 
everywhere invariably want "the best," and dealers often adopt 
the excellent plan of buying quantities of some very choice and 
tried grade of flour and selling it in convenient sized packages 
for family trade, under their own brand and guarantee. 
Corn or Maize. 

This is one of the most beautiful of plants, and the Indians for- 
merly ascribed to it a Divine origin. Hiawatha watched by the 
grave of the Spirit Mondamin, 

" 'Till at length a small greea feather 
From the earth shot slowly upward, 
Then another and another. 
And before the summer ended 
Stood the maize in all its beauty. 
With its shining robes about it. 
And its long, soft, yellow tresses." 

Indian corn contains more oil or fat than any of the common 
cereals. It will make as white and fine flour as wheat, but this 
does not make good fermented bread, unless mixed with wheaten 
flour. Corn Meal is healthful, nutritious and cheap, but, owing 
to its fat, is prone to attract oxygen and spoil, especially in warm 
weather. There are two kinds, one white, the other golden 
YELLOW. They are equally nutritious, and about the same in 
price. Some prefer the one and some the other, but probably the 
yellow is rather the most popular. The starch extracted from 
corn is very extensively used throughout the country, and such 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 13 

leadin{j brands of corn starch as those of Kingsford, Duryea, 
etc., are well known. In fact, the consumption of all the pro- 
ducts of corn is enormous. 

Samp is corn deprived of its skin and eye and left whole or 
cracked in halves. Hominy is corn ground or cracked into 
coarse, medium or fine grains, and pearled or polished. Dried 
Corn, largely prepared by the Shakers, is sweet corn boiled and 
dried. It is excellent and much used as a vegetable. 
Rye Flour. 

Rye ranks next to wheat for bread making, and is equally 
nutritious. It yields less flour and more bran than wheat, con- 
tains more sugar, and is darker in color. Its gluten has less ten- 
acity and it will not make as light and spongy bread as wheat flour, 
hence is little used in this country. Rye flour should contain a 
little of the bran, as this has a pleasant, aromatic flavor. The 
" Black bread , " so extensively eaten in portions of Europe, is 
made of rye flour. It is dark, heavy and sourish, but like all 
rye bread, has the property of keeping moist a long time. Two 
parts of wheat with one of rye flour makes wholesome and palat- 
able bread. 

Barley. 

This grain is less nutritious and less digestible than wheat, but 
contains more sugar and more of the phosphates, and is also 
cooling. It will not make good bread, but is sometimes used for 
the purpose, mixed with wheaten flour. 

Pearl Barley is the whole grain freed from its hulls like 
rice. It is used in soups, etc., and is sold by all grocers. In the 
best qualities the grains are large and well rounded. It is sold 
in bulk and in pound packages. 

Oatmeal. 

Oats arc substantial, nutritious and wholesome, being rich in 
gluten and fat. Oatmeal for the table is made from kiln dried, 
large, white oats, freed from the husks. Alone it does not make 
good bread. If long used as a sole or chief food it is reputed 
to overtax the digestive organs, heat the blood, and produce erup- 
tions of the skin. Many claim, however, that these effects are 



14 grocers' goods: 

due solely to insufficient cooking of tlie meal or porridge, and 
there are excellent preparations in market which have been well 
cooked by steam and afterwards dried. 

Besides these there are various brands of Scotch, Irish, Cana- 
dian and American oatmeal, "Crushed," "Rolled," 'Granulated," 
etc., also oat *' Avena," "Farina," etc. Groats are the whole 
kernels of oats deprived of their husks. The consumption of 
oatmeal has vastly increased within five or six years, and is rap- 
idly becoming universal. Salt only after cooking. If added 
before, salt tends to harden the meal and prevent its swelling. 
Buc4£ wheat. 
This grain may be classed with wheat as regards its nutritive 
qualities. It contains thirteen or fourteen per cent, of water, 
about fifteen per cent, of gluten, and sixty or sixty-five per cent, 
of starch. It will not make good fermented bread, but its delic- 
ious cakes are an essential and attractive feature upon American 
breakfast tables everywhere, especially in cool weather. It is 
sold in bulk and is also put up in three and six pound packages. 

Rice. 
Although this grain is the main food of one-third of the human 
race and is very easily digested, it contains too little gluten and 
fat and too much starch to be considered alone as a perfect food 
for man. Rice has a slightly constipating effect but is an excel- 
lent and wholesome occasional article of diet, and one which 
could not well be spared from the family list. Rice is sold de- 
prived of its husk. It is imported from the East Indies, but the 
best is the fine, large head rice of the Carolinas. As some of the 
most valuable qualities of rice dissolve out in hot water, it should 
be steamed until tender, rather than boiled. 
Farinaceous Foods. 
These are very numerous and some of them are excellent. 
Among them may be named the " cerealine flakes, " made 
from white corn; cracked and crushed wheat, wheaten grits, 
FARINA, which is the inner part of the wheat granulated, selp- 
RAisiNG buckwheat and Other FLOURS ; "wheatlet," "grain- 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 15 

FOOD, MILK FOOD, ARROW ROOT, CORN 6TARCH Of VarioUS makcS, 
GRAHAM FLOUR, BOSTON BROWN BREAD MIXTURES, CtC. Many of 

these preparations are eaten with milk, and prove valuable addi- 
tions to the family diet. 

Sago is the pith of an Indian palm steeped in water until it 
becomes a paste, then formed into little balls by rubbing it through 
a perforated plate. The best is the whitest. Tapioca is the pith 
of the Manihot tree, washed like sago, but granulated differently. 
Both are nutritious and easily digested, and are made into pud- 
dings, often with fruit, and eaten with milk or sauce. 

Bread. 

One hundred pounds of good, fine, wheaten flour will take up 
forty-five pounds of water, and yield one hundred and forty-five 
pounds of bread. The proper and legal weight of bread is while 
it is hot. A four pound loaf loses in twenty-four hours one and 
one-quarter ounces ; in forty-eight hours five ounces; in seventy 
hours nine ounces. The quantity of water whicn flour will ab- 
sorb depends largely on the proportion and quality of the gluten. 
The best flours absorb most, and will take up more in dry than 
in wet seasons; hence a dry season is good for the baker. Thor- 
ough kneading increases the absorption of water, and should be 
continued until none of the dough will stick to the hand. 
Feed for Stock. 

Among the articles largely used as food for animals are the 
refuse products of the various grains made in preparing them for 
human consumption ; as, for instance, the refuse left in the pearl- 
ing of barley, or in making hominy and samp; dried Barley 
Sprouts from malt, low grade flour; Middlings, which are a 
mixture of bran and flour; Bran, etc. Besides these, Oats, 
white, black and mixed, and vast quantities of Southern and 
Western Corn are also used for stock, ground into coarse meal. 
Bread Raising Materials. 

Fermentation, says Liebig, is not only the simplest and best, 
but likewise the most economical way of making light and porous 
bread. 



1(5 grocers' goods : 

Yeast is a true fungous plant, which has the power of estab- 
lishing fermentation and chanj^ing starch into sugar, and the 
escaping gas makes the loaf light and spongy. - Hops prevent too 
great fermentation and impart an agreeable flavor. Brewers' 
Yeast is largely used when obtainable, and there are many do- 
mestic modes of preparing yeast from potatoes, flour, etc. 

Dried Yeast. — But as" all these fresh yeasts are liable to spoil 
and affect the bread unpleasantly, there is an extensive demand 
for a yeast which shall possess the same properties and which 
may be kept a long time. Hence, the various brands of yeast 
cakes sold by the grocer. They are made usually by adding corn 
meal to the yeast and carefully drying the cakes in the sun. It is 
singular that a fall or sudden jar may injure yeast cakes and de- 
prive them largely of their qualities. 

Cream op tartar, bi-carbonate op soda, bi-carbonate of 
POTASH (sALERATUs), are all used in bread making, and are to be 
had in all sorts of packages of the grocer. Cream of tartar is 
tartrate of potash, and is made from the argols found incrusted 
upon the inside of wine barrels. It should be white, and not yel- 
lowish in tint. The effect of these chemicals in raising bread is 
due chiefly to the liberation of the carbonic acid gas they contain 
when mixed with water, incorporated with the dough and put in 
the oven, and the great requisite is that they should be pure and 
unadulterated. 

Baking Powders are much used for making light and palata- 
ble domestic biscuits, etc. They are convenient, and generally 
lessen the quantity of shortening required. They are made chiefly of 
tartaric acid and bi-carbonate of soda, and should be neutral to 
the taste, and without effervescence if either an acid or alkali is 
added. One popular variety, called '' Phosphatic Baking Pow- 
der," consists of acid phosphate of lime instead of cream of tartar, 
•with soda. 

Biscuits, Crackers, etc. 

The word biscuit means twice baked, and is a survival from the 
ancient mode of cooking the cakes which is now no longer in use. 
Plain biscuits are said to be more nutritious than bread in the pro- 



A FAMILY GUIDK. 17 

portion of five to three, and are most digestible when light and 
well browned in baking, so as to turn much of the starch into 
dextrine. Sea biscuit or ship bread is made simply of flour and 
water baked at a high heat. In the large cracker bakeries the 
dough is mixed, rolled and cut by machinery and the cakes travel 
on through patent ovens until baked, when they drop out into 
baskets. Those made by hand are, however, considered best. 

The variety of biscuits and crackers in market is utterly bewil- 
dering. These are among the standards : Boston, soda, butter, 

OYSTER, SUGAR, FRUIT, MILK, ENGLISH ALBERT, WATER, CREA3I, 
GINGER, LEMON, OATMEAL, CARAWAY, VANILLA, and dozCUS more 

kinds of biscuits, crackers and wafers at various prices ; besides 
GINGER and LEMON SNAPS and JUMBLES, and even dog biscuit. 
There is also cracker dust, for frying oysters, fish, etc. Some 
of the above come in handsome tin packages, 

Maccaroni, vermicilli. Spaghetti. — These are all made from 
the dough of the hardest and most glutenous Southern wheat, and 
the domestic are inferior to the Italian or French. The best will 
merely swell and soften after long boiling, and still retain its form. 
Maccaroni is in small tubes, spaghetti in small stems, and vermi- 
celli in threads or shreds. Letters, stars, and other figures are 
also made from the same materia! or paste ; all are largely used in 
soups. Egg noodles are ribbon maccaroni. 



SUGAR AND THE SWEETS. 



This necessity of modern life ranks as one of the most impor- 
tant articles among the grocers' goods. Two hundred yeara ago 
it was sold chiefly by the apothecaries, but is now consumed in 
all parts of the world to the extent of many millions of tons annu- 
ally. Sugars have been divided into four kinds, viz. : cane sugar, 
found in stems; grape sugar, found in fruits; manna sugar, found 
in leaves ; and milk or animal sugar. 

There are many varieties of the sugar cane which contain frotti 
twelve to twenty per cent, of sugar ; these are cut, crushed, and 
the juice boiled down and clarified with lime, etc. ; the sugar 
crystallizes and leaves the molasses. The sugar beet contains from 



18 grocers' goods : 

seven to thirteen per cent, of sugar, which, when raw, is unpleas- 
ant, but when refined is identical with cane sugar. The fact that 
the molasses of the sugar beet, although colorless, is very disagree- 
ble, has retarded the beet sugar manufacture, but it is a great and 
growing industry. The sap of the sugar maple contains about 
two per cent, of maple sugar, which is identical with cane sugar, 
and may be made white, but is preferred brown, as containing 
more of the rich maple flavor. About seven thousand tons of 
maple sugar are annually made in the New England States. Ma- 
ple SYRUP is extensively sold by grocers in cans, bottles, etc. 

Grape sugar or glucose. — The sweetness of ripe fruits is due 
to the starch which they contain, passing, under the ripening in- 
fluence of nature, into grape sugar. Substances may consist of 
the same elements, but different proportions may greatly vary their 
properties. For instance, starch and sugar consist merely of car- 
bon and water. Grape sugar contains more water than starch, 
and cane sugar more than grape sugar. 

Now, long boiling of starch in pure water produces little change 
upon it ; but it was found that if a little sulphuric acid is added, 
the starch will take up more water and become entirely converted 
into grape sugar. And this is substantially the way in which 
commercial glucose is made. The acid is neutralized by lime, 
and the liquor boiled down into solid grape sugar or syrup. 

Cane Sugars are sweeter than grape sugars in the proportion 
of five to three ; hence, three pounds of cane sugar are worth five 
pounds of grape or starch sugar for sweetening purposes. This 
is the reason why grape sugar is used to adulterate cane sugar, and 
it is the only adulterant used at present to any extent. 

One pound of water will dissolve three pounds of cane, but only 
one pound of grape sugar. The latter has a gummy taste on the 
tongue and dissolves slowly. A small grained sugar may carry 
some glucose and perhaps escape detection, but the crystals of a 
large grained sugar will always be brilliant in contrast with its 
contaminating ingredients, and thus proclaim the fraud. In other 
words, inferior sugars have a dull look, while good sugars are 
brio-ht. Glucose sugars melt at one hundred and five degrees, 



A FAMILY GUroB. 19 

C, while cane sugars melt only when heated to one hun- 
dred and thirty-seven degrees, C. Raw sugars are no longer 
used. They should be refined to free them from the repulsive 
sugar mite and other impurities. The best sugar is always the 
most economical. 

The Best Grades op Family Sugar are the cut loaf, cubes 
and crushed. Next in market value, in the order in which they 
stand, are powdered, granulated, A sugars, C sugars, white, yel- 
low, extra golden, etc., down to common yellow. 

Syrups. — These are the uncrystallized residue in refining brown 
sugars. They are diluted, filtered through animal charcoal, and 
concentrated. The lighter the color the higher the price. 
The better qualities are called " Rock Candy Drips, " "Golden 
Drips," etc. 

Molasses. — The choicest are the New Orleans Fancy, Choice, 
Prime. Good, etc., down through the same grades of Porto Rico, 
to the Cuba Muscovado. The quality of molasses has deteriorated 
with improvements in the manufacture of sugar on plantations, 
and it is sometimes sold mixed with glucose. 

Honey. — Consists of eighty parts in a hundred of pure grape 
sugar with an acid and aromatic principle. Spring honey is better 
than that made in autumn, and that from clover or other fragrant 
flowers is better than that of buckwheat. 

Sugar Candies. 

Whatever dangers may have lurked in confectionery in times 
past, parents may now be assured that they can gratify the nat- 
ural and healthy appetite of their children for sweets, without 
fear of poisonous colorings or harmful adulterants. 

The "National Confectioners' Association," (an organization 
formed by a large proportion of the leading manufacturing con- 
fectioners of the United States,) "is pledged by its constitution 
and by-laws to prosecute all parties using poisonous colorings, 
terra-alba, or other mineral substances in the manufacture of con- 
fectionery." They invite fathers and others interested to report 
any supposed case of injury from eating poisoned candy, and 
"ofEer a reward of one hundred dollars for evidence that will en- 



20 grocers' goods: 

able them to convict the offender." It is the opinion of the 
editor of the Weekly Confectioner, and of many prominent manu- 
facturing confectioners in New York, as expressed to us, that in 
all the land there is now no product of domestic manufacture and 
consumption which is more free from poisonous colorings and in- 
jurious adulterants than confectionery. 

But more than this: in 1886 this association passed an amend- 
ment to its constitution forbidding any member, under penalty of 
expulsion, to buy or sell "any candy adulterated with flour, corn 
meal, starch, or cerealine, except such amount of starch as is 
necessary to the manufacture of gum goods and fig paste work." 
Many confectioners, however, think this action was ill advised. 

Malclng Candy, etc. 

Glucose or grape sugar now enters largely into the manufaclure 
of many kinds of confectionery, and harmless vegetable colors 
are used. Manipulation breaks up the crystals of sugar and 
thereby renders it whiter, and the difference in the price of can- 
dies is now largely due to the amount of manipulation it receives. 
Few have an idea of the vast quantities of confectionery manu- 
factured. It amounts to many hundred tons daily; much of it is 
made almost entirely by machinery, and the business is divided. 
For instance, one firm makes only lozenges, another gum drops, 
caramels or licorice, marshmellow, etc. Jobbers supply re- 
tailers. 

If synthetic or chemically prepared flavormg extracts are used, 
they are such only as are guaranteed harmless. 

French imported "Bon Bons " are still superior to the domes- 
tic, and so are their candied violets ; but rose leaves iced here 
are equal to the imported. Licorice candies are having an in- 
creased demand yearly, Cocoanut candy contains usually a large 
admixture of the harmless cerealine. Space will not permit 
more than a reference to the great variety of confections in mar- 
ket. Among them arc stick and lump candies in scallops and 
patties, with mottoes, etc., assorted and in various colors; mixed 
candies in various forms and flavors, gum drops, lozenges, white, 
red and assorted ; rock candies, etc. 



A FAMILY GUroE. 

FAMILY BEVERAGES. 



TEA. 

This staple necessity of modern life is now consumed by more 
than five hundred millions of people, and its use appears to grow 
with the growth of civilization. There is but one species of the 
tea plant and its varieties are due to differences of soil and cli- 
mate. China alone produces annually nearly a million and a half 
tons of tea; to say nothing of the teas of Japan, Corea, Assam, 
and Java. 

Effects of Tea. 

Tea exhilarates without intoxicating ; rouses the mind to in- 
creased activity without reaction, while at the same time it soothes 
the body, dispels headache, and counteracts the effects of fer- 
mented liquors and narcotics. It lessens also the waste of the 
tissues under the labors of life. 

As an English authority says: " When the time has arrived to 
the old and infirm, that the stomach can no longer digest enough 
of the ordinary elements of food to keep up the waste of the 
system, and the size and weight of the body begins to diminish, 
tea comes in as a medicine to arrest this loss of tissue." No wonder 
then that the aged, the infirm and the poor should take kindly 
to tea. If supplies of food are scanty it lessens the need for 
them, while it makes them feel more light and cheerful, and con- 
tributes to their enjoyment. 

Black and Crreen Teas. 

Either may be prepared at will from the same leaves; the dif- 
ference lies in the mode of treatment. The earliest leaves are the 
tenderest and best flavored ; later gatherings grow more woody 
and bitter. Black teas are spread in the air for some time after 
gathering, then roasted and rolled by hand, again exposed to the 
air, whereby they undergo a slight degree of fermentation, and 
finally are dried slowly over charcoal fires. The leaves for green 
tea are, as soon as gathered, roasted a few minutes in pans over a 
brisk fire, after which they are carefully rolled and thoroughly 
dried. 



33 grocers' goods: 

Analysis of Tea by I>r. Hassall. 

Black. Green- 
Water 11.56 9.37 

Tannin 15.24 18.69 

Gum 5.70 5.89 

Albuminous matter 15.55 24.39 

Theine 2.53 2.79 

Ash 5 82 5.38 

Chlorophyle, etc 5.24 1.83 

Cellulose and other matter in.^'.luhlc in 

water 38.36 31.66 

100.00 100.00 
The aroma and commercial value of tea are due to a small 
quantity, (from ^ to 1 per cent.) of a volatile oil which it contains. 
This oil, as in coffee, is developed by roasting, the fresh picked 
leaves having neither an astringent, aromatic, nor bitter taste. 
But the effects of tea are due to its theine and tannin. Theine is 
present in all kinds of tea, as well as in coffee and cocoa, but it has 
no flavor. Tannin forms from a fifth to a seventh of the weight of 
the dried tea leaf, and is the more completely extracted the longer 
the tea is infused, or " draws." Its precise effect upon the system 
is not fully known. Black tea contains less theine, essential oil, 
and tannin, than green tea. 

The Chinese pour hot water upon their tea, and drink it 
clear, and in Russia a squeeze of lemon takes the place of our 
cream. The Chinese sometimes flavor their finr- teas with the cow- 
slip colored blossoms of the sweet-scented olive and other odori- 
ferous plants; and they also adulterate them with foreign or 
exhausted tea leaves, or with tea dust, called ''Lie tea." But 
good authorities declare that fair grades of tea are not now much 
or necessarily adulterated, and that the old idea that green teas 
are colored or faced with copper is erroneous ; at least experts 
have not been able to detect even traces of it. 
Tea Made to Order, 
There are tea coloring and facing establishments in this country 
which use for the purpose substances very similar to those used by 
the Chinese, and they have beoome so expert of late years that 
they can turn a black tea into a green (or vice versa) at short notice. 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 23 

Tea buyers judge quality by the aroma, flavor, and the color 
and strength of the infusion. They detect vegetable adulterations 
by the shape and size of the leaf when unrolled, and sometimes 
burn the leaves and weigh the residue of ash. 

Gunpowder, Hyson, and Imperial. 

Some of the most experienced tea dealers in New York declare 
that there is really no essential difference in the quality of the 
"Firsts " or choicest grades of any " Chop " of either Gunpowder, 
Hyson, or Imperial, the only difference being in the form or fine- 
ness of granulation. But the popular preference in green tea is for 
Gunpowder, which is believed to consist of the first leaves or leaf 
buds of the plant. It is graded from " common" or " fair" up to 
*' choicest." 

Varieties of Tea. 

Hyson is a widely used green tea. The name is derived from 
He-chun, a noted Chinese tea grower. Young Hyson is said to be 
made from the earlier leaves ; Imperials and Hysons from later 
gatherings. Hyson skin is the light inferior leaves winnowed 
out. Twanka7 is the poorest of the green, as Bohea is of the 
black teas. Pekoe is the best of black teas, but is little used, 
except to give fragrance to mixtures. " Capers" is used similarly 
to flavor green teas. Congou (made with care) and Souchong are 
good black teas, and are the so-called " English Breakfast Teas." 
Moyune teas are considered as among the best and healthiest of 
green teas, while Pingsuys are inferior. Cheap teas are most 
adulterated. Fine teas are not only better in flavor, but are 
stronger and go further. 

Oolong teas have "the call " in popularity with the Americans 
just now and they are recommended in sickness by the best 
phy.sicians. There are three kinds, the Formosa, Foo Chow, 
and Amoy. The first two arc the best. An article in the Londdn 
Daily News, of February 18, 1888, avers that the Chinese are 
growing neglectful in cultivating, firing, and fermenting their 
teas, and that Japan is stealing away the green tea trade of China, 
as India and Ceylon are taking that in black tea. 



S4 Grocers' goods : 

Japan Teas. 

A. & A. Low, of New York, imported the first cargo of Japftn 
tea about twenty years ago, and siEce then its consumption has 
constantly increased. The natural leaf is yellowish brown, and 
the first Japan teas brought here were of that color. But the tint 
has changed. The "uncolored " Japan tea is in fact now all 
colored with some substance like the Chinese green teas, but not 
injuriously. The "Basket fired " is the nearest to the uncolored 
leaf. The " Sun-dried " is very popular here, and is but slightly 
colored. Expert tea tasters declare that Japan teas are more ex- 
citing to the nerves than those from China. 
Blended Teas, 

Kew crop teas are the best. Japan teas come in June, and 
Chinese later, say in July and August. Many prefer a mixture of 
green and black tea for family use, and retail dealers often have 
the knack of so blending the two that the excellence of each is 
enhanced. Such a combination has less effect upon the nerves, 
and is less expensive than good green tea, while it may be more 
delightful in flavor than either black or green tea alone. 
COFFEE. 

Coffee has been aptly called the '"Beverage of Intelligence." It 
quickens the functions of the brain, arouses all the intellectual 
faculties, stimulates and gives clearness to thought and increases 
the powers of judgment. It exhilarates the nervous system, 
counteracts the stupor caused by fatigue, by disease, or by opium, 
allays hunger, retards the waste of the tissues, fortifies the powers 
of endurance, and to a certain extent gives to the weary and ex- 
hausted increased strength and vigor, and a feeling of comfort 
and repose. 

Both tea and coffee are rnore and more used in proportion to the 
intellectual development of modern times. But coffee does not 
excite the nervous system as greatly as tea and there is less re- 
action after it. 

Coffee Better tban Aleoliol. 

Coffee tends to lessen the desire for alcoholic drinks, and pos- 
sesses some of their properties without their bad effects. Alcohol 



A FAMILY GUIDM, 25 

is a false and dangerous friend. Its free use enfeebles the vital 
organs, reduces the power of resistance, degrades the mind and 
body and leads on to poverty, disease, and death. Coffee pro- 
duces the beneficial effects of moderate doses of alcohol, without 
its injurious effects. It does not, like alcohol, destroy the nerves, 
or invite immoderation, and even when used to excess is in- 
capable of doing serious injury. 

The most temperate countries are those which consume most 
coffee, and in the light of all these facts it would appear that 
efforts to extend and increase the use of coffee tend to check or 
diminish alcoholism. 

Coffee Growth and Production. 

Coffee plants are raised from the seed, are set out in 12 months, 
450 plants to the acre, begin to bear in 4 years, mature in 7 
years, and continue for 40 years. The flowers arc white and 
fragrant; the fruit, which grows in clusters, resembles a red cherry 
and contains two seeds, which are the coffee of commerce. 

The world's total annual production of coffee is about 666,000 
tons, of which Brazil furnishes 360,000 tons. The entire popula- 
tion of the United States averages to consume, per capita 7 ^-§^ lbs. 
of coffee yearly, more than three-quarters of which comes from 
Brazil. 

Raw Coffee, unlike tea, improves in quality with age, while 
it shrinks in weight, and inferior coffees may in time equal the 
choicest varieties. The aroma is in the direct ratio of its drying 
by keeping. Inferior coffees are uneven, often unclean. The 
large, uniform, dense, heavy grains are preferred, as showing com- 
plete maturity and careful selection. The color varies from all 
shades of yellow to tints of brown, green, and bluish green. 
There are large establishments in one or more eastern cities, which 
assort, color, and polish raw coffees. Much Brazilian coffee is 
assorted and sold for Mocha, Java, etc. Real Mocha is small, 
round, and dark yellow; Java and East Indian is larger and of a 
paler yellow. Ceylon, Brazilian and West Indian have naturally 
a bluish green or greenish grey tint. 

Roasting is necessary to develop the aroma and goodi}Q§* 



26 grocers' goods : 

of coffee. This delicate operation changes its chemical 
composition and develops the caffeine and volatile oil. If 
roasted too little the coffee retains a raw taste; if too much, a 
part is changed to charcoal and much aroma lost. The outside 
may be burned and the inside left raw, or some grains may be 
half raw and others burned. Coffee loses in weight from 15 to 
20 and even 25 per cent., and gains in bulk from 30 to 60 per 
cent., according as it is roasted to a reddish, chestnut, or dark 
brown. The best roasting is that which reduces the weight 
about sixteen per cent., or to a light chestnut brown. 

Coflfee and Tea Compared. 

Tea yields, weight for weight, twice as much caffeine (or 
theine) as coffee; but as we use more in weight of the latter, a 
cup of coffee contains about as much caffeine as a cup of tea. 
The composition of roasted coffee and the tea leaf are given as 

follows, although the proportions are variable: 

Tea. Coffee. 

Water 8 5 

Theine or caffeine 2i | 

Tannin 14 4 

Essential oil i Trace. 

Minor extractives 15 36 

Insoluble organic matter 54^ 50 

Ash , 5i 4i 

100 100 

Modes of Making Coffee. 

One pound of the properly roasted bean or berry should make 
55 or 60 cups of good coffee. Coffee may be made too bitter, but 
it is impossible to make it too fragrant. Coffee is much the best 
when freshly ground. The French and many Americans merely 
steep or infuse their coffee at a temperature just below the boiling 
point, claiming that boiling dissipates the aroma; others bring 
it only to a boil; while others still, hold that boiling it a 
little is more economical, as giving an increased quantity of the 
soluble, exhilarating and bitter prin-^iples. Soft water is best for 
coffee, and coffee is better cold than warmed over, as it then loses 
its fragrance. 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 37 

Coffee Substitutes and. Adulterations. 

Rye, beans, peas, acorns, carrots, turnips, dandelion root, 
burned bread, and many similar substances have at times been 
used as substitutes or adulterants for coffee. But as none of tliem 
contain caffeine or the volatile aromatic oil, they cannot serve 
the same physiological principle. Ground coffee is extensively 
adulterated, and mainly with the much cheaper 
Chicory or Wild Endive. 

Roasting develops in this root an empyreumatic, volatile oil 
which exercises upon the system some of the nerve-soothing, 
hunger-staying effects of tea and coffee. A little chicory gives 
as dark a color and as bitter a taste as a great deal of coffee. It 
is not unwholesome unless taken in excess, when its effects are 
bad. It is a poor substitute for coffee, but some peeple seem 
actually to prefer coffee which contains chicory. 
Tests for Adulterations. 

If ground coffee cakes in the paper, or when pinched by the 
fingers, or if, when a little is put into water, a part sinks while 
the rest swims, and the water becomes immediately discolored, 
the coffee is probably adulterated. The more caking and discol- 
oration, the more chicory and the less value. 

There are numerous brands of ground coffee on the market, and 
some of them are very popular and satisfactory. There are also 
various kinds of "Extracts" and *' Essences" of coffee, and even 
humble chicory may sometimes be seen without disguise and 
nicely put up in yellow papers. 

Cocoa and Cliocolate. 

The theobroma tree grows in Central and South America, The 
seeds of its fruit, which are about the size of almonds, are gently 
roasted, deprived of their husks and ground to a paste. This is 
Cocoa. If this paste be mixed with sugar and flavored with va- 
nilla, bitter almonds, etc., it forms the well known, delicious, and 
nourishing Chocolate, which may either be eaten us a confection 
or drank as a beverage. The husk, which forms about 10 per 
cent, of the weight of the bean, is called "Shells," and used by 
invalids and others for making a light and delicate infusion or tea. 



28 GROCERS' GOODS : 

The aroma of cocoa is due to an essential oil which is devel- 
oped, as with tea and coffee, by roasting. Its exhilarating prin- 
ciple, theobromine, resembles theine. It contains a large per- 
centage of fat, is very rich and nutritious, and may be said to unite 
in itself the inspiring properties of tea with the strength-giving 
qualities of milk. 

Starch, as well as sugar, is sometimes added to cocoa and 
chocolate by the manufacturers, and the practice is believed 
to be justified, owing to their richness in oil and as better fitting 
them for digestion. Cocoa is, however, also prepared free from 
«tarch and deprived of a portion of its oil. There are many 
preparations of chocolate and cocoa in market, and they embrace 
all grades of purity, sweetness and price. 



DAIRY PRODUCTS. 



Milk, Etc. 

Milk is sophisticated by robbing it of its cream, or by adding 
to it *' The milk of the cow with the iron tail," and by coloring it. 
Cream contains about 40 per cent, of fat and 55 per cent, 
of water ; skimmed milk is water, with sugar and caseine. 
Whey is merely a solution of milk sugar with a little albumen. 
Milk is best and most plentiful in spring, and richer but less 
abundant in dry seasons. The last milk drawn from the cow con- 
tains most cream. Koumiss, the use of which is rapidly in- 
creasing, is well skimmed milk, treated with a lactic ferment for 
30 or 40 hours. It is very easy of digestion. Condensed 
MILK is ordinary milk evaporated so that three pints are reduced 
to one. It soon spoils unless the air is excluded. Preserved 
MILK in cans contains about one-third its weight of sugar. 

Butter. 

Good, fresh butter, contains 84 to 88 parts of milk fat, 10 or 
12 parts of moisture, and a little milk sugar, caseine and salt. 
Inferior butter may contain as much as 33 per cent, of water, or 
buttermilk, and salt. The more buttermilk left in, the sooner 



A. FAMILY GUIDE. 29 

the butter grows rancid, while over- working tends to make it 
soft and oily. The melting of butter changes its physical proper- 
ties, and long exposure to the air injures the best butter. 

Good butter is solid and of a grained texture, has a fine orange 
yellow color and a pleasant aroma. It may comfort the curious 
to know that its odor is due to a very little butyric acid, combined 
with oxide of lipyle. To test the quantity of moisture, put a 
little of the butter in a bottle, heat gently, and leave near the fire 
for half an hour, when the butter will rise, leaving the water and 
salt at the bottom. Two-thirds of all the butter made is colored. 
Classification of Butter. 

The New York Mercantile Exchange classification, which is 
standard, is as follows: Eastern Creamery, Sweet Cream 
Creamery, Dairy Butter; "Western Creamery, Imitation 
Creamery, and Dairy, also ** Ladle" and "Grease Butter." 

Creamery Butter is the best. It is such as is made from the 
cream obtained by setting the milk at the creamery, or by the 
system known as *' Cream gathering," by which the farmer delivers 
his cream to the creamery to be churned or made into butter. 
Butter made under the former system, or from the milk, is better 
than that made from the gathered cream. Sweet Cream 
Creamery is made from unfermented cream. 

Dairy Butter is that which is made, salted, and packed by 
the dairyman or farmer. Though often really excellent, it is 
less uniform in quality, and therefore less reliable. 

Ladle Butter. — This is butter of all seasons, ages, and quali- 
ties, collected by the dealer, in rolls, lumps, or packages, from the 
farm houses, salted, or unsalted, as the case may be, and by him 
reworked, resalted, colored, and packed. 

Grades of Butter, — The varieties are all graded again into 
''Extras," "Extra Firsts," "Firsts," "Seconds," " Thirds, " etc. 
" Extras" are the choicest grades under each classification, and 
must come up to the following standard. Flavor must be perfect 
if fresh made, and fine if held ; body perfect and uniform, color 
good for the season when made, perfect and uniform ; must b© 



30 GROCERS' GOODS : 

properly salted, and in good and uniform packages. ''Extra 
Firsts' must be a grade just below "Extras," and fine butter; 
good color, etc., etc. "Firsts" must be clean and sweet, 
sound and good. " Seconds" must be fair throughout, may be 
strong if held, on tops and sides of package. " Thirds " may be 
off -flavored, etc. "Poor Butter " may be strong and of all grades 
below "Thirds" down to "Grease Butter." 

Artificial Butter. 

About 20 3' ears ago a French chemist tried to imitate the 
process which takes place when cows are underfed, and when, 
therefore, the butter they yield is supplied from their own fat. 
His aim was to make a substitute for butter for the poor, etc., 
which should be healthful, agreeable and cheap, and which 
should keep a long time without becoming rancid. The man's 
name was Mege-Mouries, and he discovered Oleomargarine. This 
product has been, and is still extensively manufactured in the 
United States, and is pronounced by some of the most eminent 
and scientific men to be wholesome, nutritious and palatable. 

Oleomargarine is made from the fat of slaughtered cattle. 
This is melted at a temperature of 150 dcg. F., and the stearine 
extracted. The ' ' Oleo oil " which is left is now churned with 
cream or milk, colored and salted. 

BuTTERiNE is made from oleo oil, neutral lard, and some butter. 
These ingredients are churned with milk or cream, colored, salted 
and packed in tubs. Refined cotton seed oil is also frequently 
used in the manufacture of both products. 

Oleomargarine Liaivs. 

In 1886 Congress passed the " Oleomargarine Bill," defining 
butter to be an article made solely from milk and cream. It im- 
poses a tax of two cents per pound upon oleomargarine and 
similar butter substitutes, compels their sale in certain sized 
packages, plainly marked or branded with the name of their con- 
tents, and requires manufacturers and dealers to take out special 
licenses, all under heavy penalties. Some of the State laws, 



A FAMILY GUIDE, Bt 

restricting the sale of oleomargarine, are still more stringent, and 
its consumption has diminished, although it is still used in some 
sections and extensively exported, 

Clieese. 
No article of food appears to be more affected than cheese by 
slight variations of the materials from which it is made, or by 
such apparently trifling differences in the methods of manufac- 
ture. Both full and skimmed milk are used; the former yield- 
ing, of course, the best product. The latter cheese is little used 
in this country. An English writer says that if milk is skimmed 
for several days, '' it yields a cheese so hard that pigs grunt at it, 
dogs bark ac it, but neither dare bite it." People's tastes vary 
greatly in the flavor of cheese, and while some prefer the natural 
tint, others buy that which is colored. Color adds neither rich- 
ness nor flavor, and is gradually falling into disuse. 

Cbeese as a Staple Food. 

Some nations (as Great Britain, etc.,) consume cheese largely as 
a staple food, while others use it more sparingly, and mainly as a 
condiment or relish. Bread and cheese consort better with ale 
than with whiskey and this country is not greatly given to cheese 
as a staple food, although its consumption is increasing here, 
owing to recent improvements in the modes of manufacture and in 
its quality. Two-thirds of our total product now goes to Europe. 
Analysis of Full and Skim lUilk Cheese. 

The composition of cheese is given as follows : 

Rich Skim milk 
^^ cheese, cheese. 

Water 36 44 

Casein 29 45 

Milk fat 30^ 6 

Salt and phosphates 4^ 5 

Good and Poor Cheese. 

Cheese dries fast and shrinks in weight ; hence the grocer who 
sella it in small quantities is compelled to charge a fair mar- 
gin or advance upon its cost to save himself from loss. The 
ordinary weight of American cheeses is about 60 Iba., but smaller 



9g QBOCERS' goods: 

ones are growing in favor, and many are now made weighing from 

35 to 40 lbs. A grocer who has a good class of custom soon 

realizes that our poor cheese takes the place of several good ones, 

and it is his aim to secure a good and popular quality and 

stick to it. 

Facts About Cheese, 

The best cheese is made from the rich June grasses, the poorest 
in the heats of summer. June cheese is safest to keep, as the 
curds are then scalded higher, to ensure that they will sustain the 
comino- warm weather. Cheese may be made for immediate use 

jind such will grow sharp if long kept — or it may be so made 

as to keep a year or more with constant improvement or ripening. 
It requires about ten pounds of milk to make one pound of 
cheese. 

"Filled " Cheese is made by substituting lard in place of the 
cream of the milk. Ten pounds of such cheese contains about 1 
pound of lard. This product is largely made in some sections, 
and is chiefly sold in the South or exported. 

Classification of Cheese. 

Cheese made in New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin has 
the first "Call" in the New York Mercantile Exchange. 
"Fancy " must be full cream, perfect in flavor, close made, well 
cured of uniform color and perfect surface. "Fine" is the next 
grade below — must be also full cream, clean flavor, etc. "Known 
Mabks " or Factory Cheese may not be full cream. "Western 
Cheese " "Shall include those of all States not mentioned above 
and shall be classified as fancy, fine, and known marks, but they 
may not be full cream." 

Imported. Cheese. 

Swiss Cheese comes from Switzerland, and more of this is im- 
ported than of all others combined. Next stands Edam from Hol- 
land. The delicious Roquefort Cheese, made in France, from 
ewes milk and kept in mountain caves to ripen, stands third in 
the list of imported cheeses, and Parmesan stands fourth; it is 
made from skimmed milk, the curd hardened by a gentle heat. 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 83 

This and sbrinz cheese are used for soups — grated. Gorgonzola 
is a fine, rich, Italian cheese, each weighing about ten pounds. 
Other good Italian cheeses are made from the milk of the buffalo 
which feed on the Roman Campagna. Stilton is the finest of 
English cheeses. It is made from full milk with added cream. It 
.improves with age, and is best when at least two years old. The 
Cheddar, Cheshire and Queen's Arms are other varieties of 
good English cheese. 

Eggs. 

Eggs are cheap and substantial food. The white is mostly 
albumen, while the yolk is two-thirds oil. Turkeys eggs are pro- 
nounced the best in flavor. Guinea hens eggs are excellent, and 
keep well on account of their thick shells. Goose eggs are larger, 
whiter, and less esteemed. Duck eggs are bluish, and less desir- 
able than hens eggs. Eight hens eggs weigh a pound. 

A fresh egg feels heavy in the hand and is semi transparent be- 
fore the light. Its large end feels warm to the tongue. The 
older it is, the less pleasant and nutritious it becomes. If it stands 
upright in water it is bad ; if obliquely it is not quite fresh. If 
it lies at the bottom it is quite fresh. An egg begins to lose flavor 
a fe^ hours after it has been laid. 

Lard. 

Good, pure lard should be white, should melt without ebullition 
or sputtering, be almost as clear and white as water, and not 
deposit any sediment. It is composed of oleine 62 j^arts, stearine 
65 parts. The fat of the hog taken from around the kidneys and 
the layers over the ribs is called "Leaf lard" and is better, 
firmer and will stand warm weather better, than lard made from 
the entire fat of the animal. 

Lard Admixtures.— There is no complaint that lard is adul- 
terated with substances injurious to health; but in February, 1888, 
a leading lard manufacturer testified before the Senate Com- 
mittee on Agriculture, at Washington, that seven-eighths of 
the lard now on the market is made from the entire fat of the 
hog, refined and purified, and mixed with a proportion of refined 



Bi grocers' GOQtFS : 

cotton seed oil and about 15 per cent, of stearine, to give it 
hardness. This, he claimed, is preferred by the public generally 
to strictly pure lard. The testimony of Prof. Sharpless, of Bos- 
ton, given at the same time and place, substantially bore out this 
statement as to the ingredients used, although in the many analy- 
ses of American lard made by him, he found some brands which 
were absolutely pure hog produ<:ts. Lard is sometimes adulterated 
with water, but this may be easily detected by melting it, 
evaporating the water, and reweighing. 

Lard may be had in barrels, wooden and tin tubs and pails, 
and in one pound tin cups. It is also retailed in bulk, like 
butter. 

Fresh Meats and Poultry. 

Beef. — Good beef should be juicy, somewhat firm and elastic, 
velvety and smooth grained to the touch, and "marbled" with 
little streaks, dots or points of fat. The suet fat should be 
plentiful, white, firm, dry, and crumbly; if the fat is yellow, 
oily, or fibrous, the beef is inferior. 

Mutton is wholesome, nutritious, and easily digested. The 
best is from a plump, small boned animal, with abundant white, 
clear, solid fat. The lean should be firm, dark red, and juicy, 
the leg bones clear, white, and short. Good Lamb has hard, 
white fat and reddish bones. 

Pork is best in fall and winter. The skin should be thin and 
pearly, the lean a delicate red, juicy, firm, and finely grained, 
and the fat white. If the fat is yellow and soft, the pork is in- 
ferior. Pork is dangerous if not thoroughly cooked. 

Veal should be from a good sized, reasonably fat milk or stall 
fed calf, five to ten weeks old. The fat should be firm and white, 
but not too white; the meat finely grained, fairly firm, and 
juicy. 

Poultry. — Many farmers have found that it pays better to 
feed their grain to poultry than to sell it by the bushel, and 
poultry is therefore much more abundant, cheaper, and more 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 3^ 

widely consumed than ever before. The dry-picked orunscalded 
has the preference in price. The best have short legs and small 
bones, and are plump. If fresh, the eyes are bright and full, the 
feet and legs moist and limber. If stale, poultry looks dark and 
slimy. When chickens grow to be a year old they are called fowl; 
the legs grow rougher, the skin fat and tougher, and the rear 
end of the breast bone hard. A moderate sized turkey is more 
apt to be tender than a very large one. 

Smoked and Dried ITIeats and Fish. 

Hams, etc. — The best are of medium size, weighing, say, 
from 8 to 14 pounds, plump, round, and the bone small. The 
shank should be short and tapering, skin thin and not shriveled 
or wrinkled, and the fat white and firm. To ascertain if ham 
has begun to spoil, thrust a skewer or knife in at the side of the 
aitch bone and at the knuckle joint; if sound there, it is good 
throughout. Bacon.— This is the smoked flank. Breakfast 
Bacon, made from young pigs, is very delicate and palatable. 
Beef Tongues are a delicacy, whether fresh, smoked, or pickled, 
hot or cold. The best are thick, firm, and with plenty of fat on 
the under side of the base. 

Dried Cod.— This is an important grocers' staple. The laig- 
est and best are caught on the "Banks" or in the deep waters 
off the Eastern coast. Some are sold whole and others are deprived 
of the back bone. Codfish is also prepared for market by being 
boned, skinned, trimmed, and even shredded. Other and infer- 
ior fish, such as Haddock, Hake, Pollock, etc., are often sold for 
cod, when salted, nnd especially when prepared as above. 

Herring, smoked whole, or scaled and boneless, are 
widely consumed. The freshest, fattest, and largest are best, 
Smoked salmon, halibut, and sturgeon, are appetizing relishes 
for the summer tea table. There are also eels pickled in jelly. 
8ARDELLES— small fish packed in highly salted milk, smoked 

SPRATS, ANCHOVIES, etC. 

Salt or Pickled Fish. 

Mackerel have the front r^nk in this lifte, and there are few 



36 GROCERS GOODS : 

good tables on which they do not occasionally appear. They arc 
sold by the grocer in barrels and fractions of barrels, in kits of 
20, 15, and 10 pounds, in tins, minus heads and tails, and by the 
single fish. The best are the fattest, largest, and freshest' of the 
current season. They should be free from rust and soaked be- 
fore cooking until all the brine is drawn out. They can be 
afterwards salted, if necessary. They are graded as '"Extra" and 
"Fancy" "Shores" and "Bays," and vary in size and fatness, 
as numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. 

Salmon, etc. — Both Halifax and Oregon salmon are pickled 
or salted, and in demand in many sections of the country, and 
pickled SALMON bellies are very fine. Herring and cod are 
also to be had in brine. 

Meat Essences and Extracts. 

There are several vaiieties of these articles in liquids, pastes, 
and solids. Some, at least, of them, without being true nutrients 
are excellent as condiments, stimulants, and tonics for digestion. 
Meat juices contain a substance called kreatine, which is similar 
in its exhilerating properties to the peculiar principles of tea and 
coffee. Fifty pounds of meat are said to be required to make one 
pound of Liebig's meat extract. These preparations are valuable 
additions to other foods, but all that is needed for nourishment 
should be added to them. 



CANNED GOODS. 



Until lately, man had done little more in preserving his food 
in a fresh, condition, than the squirrels which gather and store 
their nuts and seeds in a warm, dry place. To be sure, he knew 
how to dry and smoke, and the uses of salt and sugar. He had 
even tried to preserve his meats and fruits in a fresh state; but 
his rude methods hardly foreshadowed the splendid results which 
have recently been achieved in the line of canned goods, 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 87 

Excellence of American Canned Goods* 

M. Appert, of France, first patented (in 1810) a process for pre- 
serving animal and vegetable substances in close vessels of 
glass — after subjecting them to tbe action of heat — and an Eng- 
lish firm soon after introduced provisions preserved in tin. 
But it was reserved for Americans to lead the world, not only in 
the magnitude of their canning industries, but also in the art of 
preserving meats, vegetables, and fruits, by processes so delicate 
and effective, as to retain their original shape and texture, as well 
as their freshness and flavor. And, moreover, while they have 
practically prolonged the "Seasons" for perishable food products 
throughout the entire year, and furnish them for the consumer 
at very reasonable rates, the producer has often thanked them 
for giving stability to prices in seasons of great "Gluts" and 
abundance. 

Varieties of Canned Goods. 

Among canned goods, in glass or tin packages of various sizes, 
qualities and prices, are the following : 

Canned ::neats. 

Corned beef, boiled ; roast beef, beef a la mode, boiled 

HAM, BOILED TONGUE, ROAST MUTTON, ROAST VEAL, ROAST 
CHICKEN, ROAST TURKEY, BRAWN, POTTED MEATS of all kinds ; 
GAME PATES of WILD DUCK, GROUSE, PARTRIDGE, PLOVER, WOOD- 
COCK ; BONED TURKEY AND CHICKEN, with jelly; CURRIED 
CHICKEN, DEVILLED CHICKEN, TURKEY, HAM, PIG's FEET, LAMB's 
TONGUES, etc. 

Canned Sonps and Brotbs. 
Beef, chicken, green turtle, oxtall, julienne, mock 

TURTLE, CONSOMME, MACCARONI, VERMICELLI, PEA, MUTTON 

broth, etc. 

Fish. 

Clams, clam chowder, anchovies, crabs fresh, crabs 

DEVILLED, CODFISH BALLS, MACKEREL FRESH, LOBSTER, OYSTERS, 
PRAWNS, SHRIMP, SALMON, SARDLNES, TROUT, TURTLE, KIPPERED 
HERRING, BLOATERS, CtC. 



^ GROCERS' GOODS: 

Canned Vcsgetables. 

A8^ABA(3US, Baked, Lima, and String beans, green corn, 

ICUSHROOMS, OKRA, ONIONS, PEAS, PUMPKIN, SQUASH, SUCCOTASH, 
SPINACH, RHUBARB, etC. 

Canned Fruits, 
Apples, apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, 

GRAPES, gooseberries, PEACHES, PEARS, PLUMS, PINEAPPLES, 
quinces, raspberries, STRAWBERRIES, etC. 
Canned Sundries. 
Besides the above, there are "H( aps" of canned delicacies, such, 
for instance, as truffles, truffle pates, truffle du perigord, 
in tins and glass, plum puddings, plum pudding sauces, etc. 

Some of the French vegetables in glass and tin are beautifully 
green in appearance, but it is evident that they are artificially 
colored. A more wholesome device is to put the articles up in 
the intensely green bottles sometimes seen. 

The Tin Cans. — Tin is mainly used for canned goods, and is 
the least objectionable of all the metals, and better than anything 
probably, except glass. It does not oxidize easily, and if it does, 
its soluble salts are less injurious, than those of any other avail- 
able metal. 

Jellies, Preserves, etc. 

Jellies are made from nearly all the fruits by mixing their 
juices with sugar, and often with gelatine or isinglass, (four parta 
«f which will convert 100 parts of water into a tremulous jelly) 
and boiling them down. Jellies are wholesome, cooling, and 
grateful, provided they are free from adulterations and noxious 
colorings, and are much used upon the tea table and in the sick 
room. Among the varieties of jelly in the market are applet, 

CRAB APPLE, BLACKBERRY, CURRANT, GRAPE, LEMON, GUAVA, 
ORANGE, QUINCE, RASPBERRY, STRAWBERRY, etC. They COmC in 

tumblers and jars, and in bulk. There are also calves' foot, 
WINK and SPIRIT jellies. 

Preserves. — All the above fruits are preserved in sugar, and 
put up in quart and pint jars. Cherries, peaches, pears, etc., 



A Family &tJiD£. ^ 

are also preserved in brandy, and sold in glass jars. There is 
also a great variety of jams and marmalades, both foreign and 
domestic; ginger root, boiled in syrup, etc. Fruit butter is 
made from various fruits, as, Apple, Cranberry, Peach, Pear 
or Raspberry, etc., by stewing them in sugar or molasses. It is 
usually sold from pails by the pound, and is much used in some 
sections. 

Flavoring Extracts and Essences. 

The delicate flavors of fruit and the fragrant principles of spice 
and other substances, as vanilla, etc., are extracted by pressure or 
distillation, and dissolved inspirits of wine for culinary purposes 
ttis found also, that certain ethers and oils may be so combined 
(as, for instance, potato oil) as to yield the taste and smell of 
many fruits, such as pears, apples, grapes pineapples, etc. 
flavoring extracts and essences are variously put up in vials and 
bottles; among them are lemon, vanilla, rose, almond, peach, 

CELERY, GINGER, CLOVES, NUTMEG, STRAWBERRY, RASPBERRY 
PINEAPPLE, NECTARINE, etc. ' 

Isinglass and gelatine are used to make jellies, and thicken 
fioups and gravies. Isinglass is made from the intestines of fish 
Its advantages over gelatine are lighter color, less flavor, and 
greater thickening power. In cold water it softens, swells be- 
comes white and opaque. In hot water it smells a little fi'shy 
Gelatine is made from the bones of animals; it also swells in cold 
water, but becomes glassy and transparent, while in hot water it 
has somewhat the smell of glue. It is often sold for isinglass 
The test of both is in the fineness and clearness of their jelly' 
Calves' foot jelly is delicate, but less firm. Gelatine is sold 
in sheets and shreds. 

Herbs for seasoning, as, sage, summer savory, sweet mar- 
joram, thyme, etc., are sold in the leaf, and also powdered, in 
tins and paper packets. 

Spices and Condiments. 

Spices are generally understood to be more aromatic and ii^ 
^rant and less pungent than what are called condiment?. Spiee» 



40 grocers' goods: 

are usually added to sweetened food, while condiments, as pep- 
per and mustard, are better suited to meats and food containing 
salt. 

It is impossible to supply genuine articles if the public are not 
willing to pay for them, and it may be accepted as a general rule, 
that the low^er the price of ground spices and condiments, the more 
they are adulterated. The materials chiefly used for this purpose 
are starch, cracker dust and similar harmless substances, and the 
mixture usually contains as much of the pure material as can 
reasonably be afforded at the price it sells for. The purchaser 
may elect whether he will have such articles, or those which are 
genuine at a higher cost. The grocer does not create wants and 
demands; he merely supplies them. 

Pepper. — There are two kinds, black and white. Both are 
from the seeds of the p^^e7• nigrum, a plant which grows in the 
East and West Indies. Black pepper is the seed picked before 
it is fully ripe, dried and ground. White pepper is made from 
the ripened seed deprived of its black outer shell or pericarp. 
Pepper is an agreeable addition to many kinds of food, and is 
said to promote the secretion of the gastric juice ; it is more used 
than any other spice. 

Cayenne pepper is the powdered pod of one or more species 
of capsicum. The sharp taste is due to a camphor like substance 
found more in the pods than in the seeds. 

Mustard. — This is the flour of the black or white mustard 
seed. The black seed contains most volatile oil, is more pun- 
gent, and differs from the white in chemical composition. The 
two are blended in various proportions. Wheat flour is often 
added, with a little turmeric to bring up the color. Mustard 
seed contains over 30 per cent, of a fixed oil, and a portion of 
this is often extracted. This practice is considered beneficial 
rather than fraudulent. 

Ginger. — This is the root-stalk of a plant which grows in 
Jamaica and other warm countries. The best comes wdth the 
skin scraped off. This is grouud. The odor of ginger is due to 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 41 

an essential oil ; its pungency to a peculiar resin. It is sometimes 
adulterated with starch, sago, rice, and wheat flour, mustard 
hulls, cayenne pepper, etc. But, as with all the other spices, 
there are pure brands. 

Cloves are the dried flower buds of the clove tree. They 
come from the East Indies, Africa, and South America, ranking 
in value in the order named. The best contain as much as 16 per 
cent, of a volatile oil to which their flavor is due. Ground cloves 
have sometimes a portion of this oil pressed out, with piminto 
or allspice added, which latter is much less costly. Cloves are 
best when large, plump, bright in tint, and full of oil, which 
exudes on pressure with the finger nail. 

Allspice or pimento is the little, round berry of an evergreen 
tree, common in the West Indies. It contains about 4 per cent, 
of an aromatic oil. Owing to its cheapness, it is less adulterated 
than other spices. 

Cinnamon is the true bark of a small evergreen tree of Ceylon. 
The best is very thin, the outer and inner coats of the bark hav- 
ing been removed. 

Cassia is the bark of another species of cinnamon tree ; it is" 
thicker, corky, and not so red. It is cheap and not much adul-' 
terated. It is often sold for cinnamon, but is less aromatic and 
valuable. Cassia buds are the unripe buds of the same tree. 

Nutmegs and Mace.— Nutmegs are the seeds of the Myristica, 
Fragrans, a tree which grows in the East Indies. Good nut-" 
megs feel heavy in the hand, and are not worm. eaten. They 
contain about 8 percent, of volatile oil, and 25 per cent, of fixed 
oil, which exudes under indentation or pressure with the finger ' 
nail. Most people buy whole nutmegs and the ground article 
has only a limited sale. Mace is the arillus or coating of the nut- 
meg, and is also sold whole or unground 

CuBRY P0WD3R.— This compound of spice^s, etc., is much used' 
in India and other hot countries, as an appetizer and stimulant, 
to digestion. There are several excellent brands of curry pow-> 
der in market, both English and American, made approximately 
after some one of the following five receipts : 





Proportidii* 




6 


4 


6 3 


3 


5 


4 


2 2 


i 


1 


1 


f 


G 





2 


3 


i 


3 


2 


1 


•!r 


3 


2 


2 4 








6 


8 12 


a 








i i 











i i 


i 








i 


i 








i 


1 


Q 








i 



OttdCEES? GOODS : 



Turmeric 

Black peppcM- 

Cayenne 1 

Ginger 

Fenugreek 

Cummin seed 

Coriander seed 

Cardamom seed 

Pimento 

Cinnamon 

Cloves 

Nutmeg 

Salt. 

Common Salt varies in purity and sometimes contains salts of 
lime nia^-nesia, and potash. But as those are more soluble in 
water than common salt, it is easy to remove them in the process 
of manufacture. Our culinary salt comes from several sources; 
rock salt deposits or mines, sea water, and salt springs. 

There are numerous brands of salt which are freed from all im- 
purity, ground to various degrees of fineness, and put up iu bar- 
rels, sacks, bags and packets of all sizes; also in stone Jars. 

Celery salt is good common salt mingled with the finely 
ground seeds of celery. 

Besides the finer qualities for table use, there are varieties spec- 
ially adapted for salting and pickling meats, fish, etc. ; lump rock 
salt for cattle, hay salt, etc. The bitter salts of lime, magnesia^ 
etc.» attract moisture more than common salt, hence dryness ia a 
sign of purity. 

Tinesar. 

'thft soxir pxincipie is acetic acid, ol which good vinegar cdil* 
tains about four per cent. Vinegar may be obtained by feiraffla- 
t^ifitti frcnfi. the juice of any starchy or sweet fruit or vegetable, 
Crota beer, at even from sweetened water, to which *' mother "" or 
oth.er vinegar is added. Cider vinegar is most used, as it retaim 
tbe foiiity flavor of the apple, but good vinegar is also made frdm 
wine, malt, oranges, raspberries, etc. There are many varieties 



in market, Ijoth domestic and foreign. Stringent laws regulate 

the purity and strength of vinegar for domestic uses, in New York 

and some other states. 

Pickles. 

These are fruits and vegetables preserved in vinegar, after first 
steeping them in brine. Certain articles require to be pickled in 
scalding hot vinegar, others with cold ; salt, pepper and spicca. 
are added to suit the taste. Pickles were formerly extensively 
colored green with copper, but the ghastly practice has gone out 
of date. Intelligent people will prefer those which have the 
more natural and wholesome yellowish, olive green tint. There 
are all sorts of i)ickles in market, put up in glass or wood packages 
of various sizes, as follows : 

Cucumbers and gherkins, chow chow, cauliflower, onions^ 

MANGOES, PICALILLI, WALNUTS, PEPPERS, HORSERADISH, MIXED 

PICKLES, and SWEET PICKLES. Among the best of imported pick- 
les are the reliable Cross and Blackwell goods; some domestic 
brands are perhaps equally good. Olives are in brine, usually 
in wide-mouthed glass jars. They come from Italy, Spain, and 
France. The "Queen," "Crescent," etc., are favorite brands*., 
There are also French capers, so important as an accompaniment 
for boiled mutton, etc. 

Salad oil. — The best is the oil of the olive, which, ivhen 
pure, is of pale, greenish yellow tint, with an agreeable odor and 
taste. Refined Cottonseed oil has naturally a more reddish 
tint. It is extensively sold as olive oil or mixed with it, although 
many grocers keep the genuine olive oil. Salad dressings are 
also in market, some of which are very fine and delicate. 

Sauces. 

These articles give zest to food and stimulate digestion. Their 
composition is very varied and embraces many fruits and vege- 
tables, as the tomato, walnut, garlic, shallot; many herbs, astarra^ 
gon,chervill, mint, thyme, marjoram; many condiments, as cayenne, 
black pepper, mustard, and all the spices ; many fish, as lobsters, 
oysters, clams, shrimp, anchovies; the juices of meat, besides sfilt, 
sugar, molasses, etc. 



44 grocers' goods : 

Pepper sauce is made from the little Jamaica peppers, the 
Mexican, Chili pepper, or some other variety of red or green pep- 
per. There are numerous brands, and nearly all are good. The 
TABASCO PEPPER SAUCE is excellent. Tomato catsup or ketch- 
up is a very wholesome and agreeable addition to the diet. 
Amono- the best and most popular varieties is the "Shrewsbury" 
tomato ketchup. Mushroom and Walnut Catsups are less used, 
but still have many friends. 

Among the dainty and well known sauces, are the Worces- 
tershire, LEICESTERSHIRE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, SULTANA, PICCA- 
DILLY, CHUTNEE, SOHO, HARVEY, NORTH OF ENGLAND, CtC. There 

are also various American sauces, some of which are imitations of 
the above or very similar in composition and flavor. Some of the 
Eno-lish sauces are put up in elegant and artistic vases. 



DOMESTIC FRUITS AND BERRIES. 



The increasing excellence, abundance and cheapness of fruits 
and berries is full of promise for the health and vigor of the 
American people. They are wholesome, cooling and nutritious. 

Apples. — This noble fruit is in market the year round ; new 
Southern apples are first marketed in April. Apricots are a fine 
small fruit which ripens in July. Cherries reach us from the 
South in May. Nectarines come in August. Peaches are at 
the height of their season in August and September. Early in 
the latter month they should be secured for preserving. Pears. 
— The choicest are the Dutchess, Bartlett and Virgalieu. Cali- 
fornia PEARS are excelleatand widely sold through the country. 
Plums ripen in August, and are in season until October. Quince 
is a highly flavored fruit, used only for preserves. Grapes. — 
Besides our own abundant and delicious Muscat, Concord, Isabella, 
Catawba, and other varieties, three-quarters of a million barrels 
of the hardy and cooling white Almeria grapes are annually im- 
ported at New York. They were formerly a costly luxury, but 
are now abundant and cheap, and will keep through the winter. 



A FAMILY GUroE. 45 

Strawberries. — The season opens with shipments from Flor- 
ida early in March, and closes six months later with the product 
of the far North. Raspberries come in June and continue 
until August. . Blackberries ripen early in July, and are very 
healthful. Currants ripen in July and continue until Septem- 
ber ; they are white, red and black, and are wholesome and cool- 
ing. Gooseberries may be had red, yellow, green and white. 
They are much used unripe, for cooking purposes. Craistberries 
begin to reach market from Cape Cod, New Jersey, etc., about 
September first. The largest and darkest are the best. They are 
healthful and an almost indispensable ad junct to roast turkey, etc. ; 
are also used for sauces, tarts, and pies. 

Tropical Fruits. 

The increased knowledge in regard to the excellence and 
healthfulness of these fruits has, within a few years, greatly en- 
larged the demand for them, and they are now sold at moderate 
prices in almost every city and town in the land. 

Oranges. — Those from Florida and California are richer and 
of finer flavor, while the Mediterranean variety are thin skinned, 
juicy, hardy, and will keep longer. That region sends us annu- 
ally a million boxes of oranges, and the annual product of Flor- 
ida and California is two million boxes. Havana oranges are 
not as good as they used to be, but twenty thousand barrels come 
to New York yearly from Cuba. 

Lemons. — A million and a half boxes of lemons are consumed 
yearly in this country, most of which come from Sicily, but 
lemon culture is increasing in Florida. Lemons vary much more 
in price than oranges, as a heated term or unusual sickness in- 
creases the consumption. 

Bananas and other fruits. — There are two varieties, the 
red from Cuba, and the yellow from Jamaica and the Spanish 
Main. The latter are the better. Bananas are in market all the 
year, but the season is from March to August. Pineapples are 
exquisitely flavored fruit, much used sliced for the tea table. 
The season is from May to August. Cocoanuts are used grated. 



46 grocers' goods : 

for making pies and puddings ; they are delicious, but rather in- 
digestible. Dessicated cocoanut is the meat of cocoanuts 
ground and dried, and mixed with powdered sugar ; sometimes, 
also, rice, flour, or corn starch is added. It comes in packets, 
cans, etc. 



FRESH VEGETABLES. 



In the Spring and Summer months the appetite craves fresh 
vegetables ; and their free use, especially in those seasons, will be 
found excellent for the general health of the family. Spinach, 
for instance, is said to be beneficial in kidney complaints ; Dan- 
delion greens are good for biliousness ; Tomatoes act upon the 
liver ; Celery upon the nerves ; Onion soup restores a debilitated 
stomach, etc., etc. In fact, it would be easy thus to go through 
the whole vegetable list and find each one possessing some special 
mission of healthfulness. 

Wliere Early Vegetables Come From. 

The Bermudas send annually about $400,000 worth of potatoes, 
onions, beets and tomatoes to Kew York, during the months of 
March, April and May. Florida garden jModuce finds its way 
North very early in the Spring, and later, in regular order, Georgia, 
South and North Carolina, and Virginia, wheel into line with 
their numerous productions, until, finally, our home gardeners 
have their season. During all this time our vegetables on sale 
are improving in freshness as they are drawn from sources nearer 
home, and prices are falling. 

Tlie Varieties. 

Potatoes. — The heavier ones are more mealy and nutritious than 
those Avhich are waxy and soft. There are many favorite varie- 
ties. Some are early but less mealy, others prolific but lacking in 
flavor, etc. — hence prices vary. Sweet Potatoes. — There are two 
varieties — the red and yellow — with but little difference in price. 
Cabbage. — A standard vegetable the year round; the heaviest 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 4^ 

are the best. Cauliflower, best from April to December; the 
large, creamy white, solid heads are jDreferred; dark or soft spots 
indicate staleness. Onions are very nutritious ; their powerful odor 
is due to a strong smelling, volatile, sulphurized oil. There are the 
white or silver skinned, yellow and red. Spanish Onions are 
milder, and much eaten raw. Garlic, a pungent species of the 
onion tribe, and very healthful ; used for flavoring. Leeks and 
Chives are allies of the onion. Leeks have large leaves, a thick 
sialk and small root ; Chives, used as salads, have small, spine- 
like leaves. Carrots, Turnips, Beets and Parsnips are stan- 
dard vegetables to be had throughout the year; frost improves 
the latter. 

Asparagus. — A choice and health giving vegetable. Season be- 
gins in March, and it grows fibrous in July. Celery is improved 
by frost, and is in its prime and cheapest during the winter 
months, after which it becomes tougher and stringy. Cucumbers. — 
A pleasant, cooling vegetable, but difficult of digestion, and con- 
taining little nourishment. Tomatoes are excellent food for peo- 
ple with weak stomachs or liver difficulties ; is a vegetable that 
could ill be spared. Millions of bushels are canned every year, 
and if properly put up are nearly as good as the fresh article. 
Peas. — The smaller varieties are best, should be purchased in the 
pods, which should be cool, crisp and green. A black spot on 
the pea indicates that it is too old to be at its best. Beans, shelled 
and string. — The former embrace the Lima sorts. The Neapoli- 
tan or snap is considered best of the String beans. Green Couk 
comes from the South in May, and the home supply lasts till Oc- 
tober. Ears should be well filled and milky, and not too old. 
Green sweet corn is the best. 

Rhubarb. — Much used for sauce and pies. The leaves are said 
to contain oxalic acid, and must not be eaten. Radish, said to 
be difficult of digestion itself, but helps to digest other food. 
There are two varieties, the small bulbous, or round, and the 
long. Artichoke, a tuber like the potatoe; is pickled, used as- 
a salad and as a vegetable. Squash. — The summer squash is in 



48 grocers' goods : 

market from April to September. Winter squash is more sub- 
stantial but less delicate. Oyster Plais't has a grassy top, and a 
long, tapering, white root like a carrot ; its flavor suggests that of 
oysters. Egg Plant, called Guinea Squash at the South, should 
be firm, hard, and rather under ripe, it also tastes somewhat like 
an oyster; the large, purple, oval shaped, is the better variety. 
Okra or Gumbo. — The green seed pods are much esteemed for 
soups and stews, especially in the South, and are growing in favor 
at the North. The long green variety is considered best. Let- 
tuce, Spinach, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Beet-tops, Dandelion 
Leaves, etc., are used as salads and for greens. 

Melons. — Musk-melon, the stronger the musk odor, the finer 
it is; but if it apj^ears quite ripe all over, it is over ripe and de- 
composing. If it has no odor, it is only fit for cattle. Water- 
melon, if pressed near its center, should yield a little, and the 
indentation disappear when the finger is removed. If no indent 
can be made, the melon is too green, if the depression remains, 
the melon is over ripe. 

Beans, Peas, and Lentils. — These leguminous seeds are very 
nutritious and palatable, and rank high among strength-giving 
foods. They contain vegetable casein in place of gluten, and 
hence are not suitable for making bread ; all these articles are 
more digestible if eaten with fat, and the American staple dish of 
Pork and Beans is really the marriage of two articles which agree 
very well with each other. Dried Peas, split, or ground into 
meal, are much used for soups. Lentils, which are round 
seeds like flattened peas, are excellent used as a vegetable, but 
are comparatively little known. The most popular varieties of 
the white beans are the Marrow, Kidney and Pea beans. There 
are also Frijoles or black beans, Lima beans, etc. 

DRI£]> FRUITS. 

The chief consideration with articles in this line is, that they 
should be as fresh as possible, and free from vermin and traces of 
vermin. Worms in dried fruits are never in sight, even though 
they may swarm below the surface. Dried Apples should be 



X FAMILY GUIDK. 49 

light colored, plump and acid. Evaporated fruit (by the Alden 
process, etc.) is preferred to sun-dried. It is often bleached in 
the fumes of sulphurous acid, which has a tendency to keep the 
fruit free from worms, and does not injure the flavor. Dried 
Peaches should be j^ealed, clear and dark. Dried Plums should 
be pitted, clear and bright. Dried Berries — the chief danger 
is from worms. 

Raisins. 

Raisins are dried graj^es. The finest are the Dehesa " Layers;" 
next are the Cluster, or Bunch raisins, and the "Loose," which 
are without stems. They are better in proportion to the number 
of crowns in the brand, as 1, 2, 3. 4, 5 Crowns. The small seed- 
less raisins are called "Sultana," and come from Smyrna. Va- 
LENCiAS are the common cooking raisins. California Raisins 
(Muscatel) are excellent, very fast growing in popular favor,- 
and are the coming summer raisin. The best raisins are of the 
"Last crop." Age tends to crystalize the grape sugar in raisins, 
and they are also liable to the attacks of vermin. 
, Dried Currants are the small dried grapes of the Ionian Is- 
lands. The " Vostizza'''' come in cases, and are considered better 
in proportion as they are larger in size. There are a number of 
varieties of currants. They should be bright and clean. 

Figs are said to be easier of digestion than any other dried 
sweet fruit, and are slightly laxative. ' 'Eleme, " signifies superior, 
or hand picked. Generally the last crop "Layers" (as distin- 
guished from those in kegs) are the best; they should be fresh, 
moist, thin skinned, semi-transparent, and free from vermin. 
There are many varieties, and they are put up in all sorts of pack- 
ages. . 

Prunes are dried plums, or "French plums," as they are some- 
times called. They are extensively raised in the valley of the 
Loire, in France; also ii Germany, and about Bosnia, in Turkey. 
California prunes Are also excellent, and very popular wherever 
they are known. The largest and freshest prunes are the best. 
They come in bottles^ tins, bags, boxes and casks. 



50 grocers' goods : 

Dates. — This ''Bread of the Desert " is the sun-dried fruit Of 
the date palm, and is both nourishing and palatable. Dates werd 
formerly packed in frails, but now come usually in boxes. Among 
the best varieties of Persian and Egyptian dates arc the "Hallo- 
wee " and the " Sair;'''' some are large, yellow, moist, and little 
wrinkled, others are smaller, dark in color, with small pits; some 
are very sweet and insipid, and others almost aromatic in flavor. 

Tamarinds are the pods of a tree, growing in the East and 
West Indies, gathered when ripe, and preserved in sugar or mo- 
lasses. They are acid, pleasant, healthful, and cooling. They 
come in bottles, stone jars and kegs. 

IV UTS. 

Almonds are of two kinds, the sweet and bitter ; the latter are only 
used for making extracts. Among the edible varieties are the Tar- 
ragona, Valencia, "Jordan," a corruption of Jardm (garden),, 
etc. There arc hard, soft, and "paper shell" almonds, and almond 
meats freed from their shells. Filberts are cultivated hazel nuts 
and come mainly from Sicily. Pecans come from Texas. Wal- 
nuts from Italy, France, and Chili. Brazil Nuts grow along^tbe 
Amazon in clusters on high trees. They are oily and rich. Pea- 
nuts come from Virginia, and Chestnuts fr.om Italy and our owij 
Northern States. 



TOBACCO. 



The acttitre principle of tobacco is the alkaloid nicr<5tine, bttt 
it cannot be Said that the effects of tobacco are solely dud td this 
substance, for some varieties, as the Syrian, etc., contains littteair 
•no nicotine, yet arc considered strdng. The quantity of flij^ctfttie 
varies mtich in tobacco, or from one-half of one p« r cent. t& ei^Jtt" 
^er cent. As a rule, the finer the quality and flavor, the te»»flie»- 
tine the tobacco contains. 

There are many varieties of tobacco, as those of Virginia, KeI^- 
tucky, Maryland, etc., which are used mainly for chewing, while 



A FAMILY GUEDE. ^' 

the Cuban, Turkisla, Connecticut, Sumatra, etc, are considered 
better for cigars. All these tobaccos may vary again in species, 
as, for instance, there are the Orinoco, Cienfuegos, White Stem, 
One Sucker, Isabella, White Barley, Fiji Orinoco, Cubani, and 
many others. Havana or Cuban tobacco has long held the palm 
over all the world for making the most exquisitely flavored cigars. 
The aromatic principles on which its value depends can only be 
developed under a warm, moist climate. 

Chewing Tobacco 
Is used both in the "plug " form and as "fine cut," and in some 
localities preference is given to the one, while little of the other 
is sold. The New England and some of the Western States take their 
chewing tobacco largely in plugs, while the Middle States take 
more kindly to the fine cut. Detroit has a national reputation for 
the manufacture of fine cut tobaccos, which are extensively sold 
in tin foil and paper packages, and in bulk, in pails, etc. There 
are many hundreds of brands of chewing tobacco, both plug and 
fine cut. Some are the natural leaf, while others are sweetened ; 
so that the most diversified tastes may be satisfied. 
Smoking Tobacco. 

North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky are foremost among the 
States in the manufacture of the smoking tobaccos, which are 
almost infinite in variety and sold in all sorts of packages. Among 
them are the "Long" and "Shortcut," "Navy Clippings, ""Granu 
lated," " Nigger Head," "Sweet Spun Roll," " Golden Caven- 
dish," "Durham," "Fruits and Flowers," "Seal of North Caro- 
lina," "Seal of Virginia," and m?.ny others, besides imported 
varieties, as Persian, Latakia, Ha -ina, etc. In addition to smok- 
ing tobaccos, many grocers keep a full assortment of pipes, from 
the common clay up, through all kinds of briar and applewood 
pipes to the genuine meerschaum goods of every style and quality. 

Cigars. 

The value of a cigar depends not only on the quality of the 
leaf, but largely also on the mode of manufacture. If rolled top 
Iwird or too loosely, it will burn badly. 



62 grocers' goods: 

Wliy a Cigar Should Burn Well. 

The best burning leaves must be used for wraps; if not, the 
air has no access to the inside burning parts, and the empyreumat- 
ical substances are volatilized without being decomposed. Such 
cigars make much smoke and smell disagrecabl}'. If the cigar 
burns well, more of the nicotine is consumed and decomposed. 
Cigars, therefore, which contain little nicotine and burn poorly, 
are more narcotic in their effects than well burning cigars which 
contain a greater quantity of nicotine. Hence, the leaves of the 
Connecticut or "Seed leaf" tobacco, which burn freely and well, 
are much used for wrappers for cigars filled with Havana tobacco. 
Within recent years, however, the handsome leaved Sumatra 
tobacco is quite largely used for wrappers upon medium priced 
cigars, as it burns better than Cuban tobacco. 

Quality of Cigars. 

The real excellence of a very high-priced cigar is not in propor- 
tion to its cost, which depends largely on its size and the fancy 
of the buyer. For instance, a 50-cent cigar will burn no better 
nor be much, if any more fragrant than a 25-cent cigar. It may 
be larger, and the large Havana leaves, free from veins and suit- 
able for use as wrappers for fine, large cigars are so scarce and 
high, as to enhance their cost out of all proportion to that of an 
equally well flavored, though smaller cigar. In fact, 10 or 15 
cents should procure as good a medium sized cigar as average 
people care to smoke. The dude's dollar cigar is not much, if any 
better, except as fancy makes it so. 

Many of the 5-cent cigars sold so extensively, contain a large 
proportion of Havana tobacco, and make a fairly fragrant and 
pleasant smoke. It is said that there are upwards of 100,000 open 
and proprietary brands of cigars on the market. 

Cigarettes. — The sale of these little paper tubes filled with 
tobacco, has grown enormously within a few years and is still in- 
creasing.. It is whispered that the ladies even, sometimes seek to find 
in them a whiff of the solace and comfort their brothers and 



A FAMILY GUroE. 53 

husbands find in the pipe or cigar. There are many favorite 
brands on the market. 

Snuff. — This article which is made from the stems and refuse 
of the tobacco, or largely so, is comparatively little used in this 
country ; but in some sections, and especially in the South it is 
sold to a considerable extent. It comes in bulk and in jars, bot- 
tles, bladders, and packets. Among the varieties are *' Carolina 
Sweet " and plain Scotch Snuff, Maccaboy and coarse French 
Rappee, scented or plain. 



SOAP. 



Soap is made by boiling down oils or fats in a water solution of 
caustic soda or potash. Through the acid properties of the fats, 
the oleine, stearine, margarine, etc., which they contain, combine 
with the alkali to produce the saponified compound. 

Hard soap is made with soda ; soft soap with potash. The 
more oleine in the fat, the softer the soap; the more stearine the 
harder. Rosin is also largely used, sometimes to the extent of 
one-third the weight of the soap. It increases its hardness, 
makes it dissolve easier in water and forms a more copious lather. 

The Most Economical Soap. 

Soap may be two-thirds water and still remain solid. Even 
dry, hard soap contains 20 or 25 per cent, of moisture. An excess 
of water causes soap to waste or dissolve too freely in use ; hence,, 
as soap is perpetually losing water by evaporation, the most eco- 
nomical to buy is that with some age and moderately dry, yet not 
so much dried that it will not dissolve readily and make a good 
lather or suds. 

Elfiects of Strong Soap on Fabrics. 

Soap must not be strong enough to injure fabrics or discharge 
colors, yet sufficiently powerful to render grease and dirt soluble, 
so that it may be washed away in water. Rosin soap hardens the 
fibers of wool, and alkalies, if used to excess, shrink woolen fabrics. 



54 grocers' goods: 

Hard water, or that containing lime or magnesia, more or less 
decomposes soap, and it floats on the surface as a greasy scum. 
But if an oily film rises to the top of soft water, it shows that 
the fat in the soap is not all saponified. Soft water is better than 
hard for fabrics. 

.Vliat Soaps Are j^ade Of. 

Common Yellow Bar Soap contains soda with fat and rosin. 
White Soap consists of tallow and soda. Castile Soap is made 
of olive oil and soda. Common Fancy Soaps are mainly ordinary 
soap colored and scented. Real Brown Windsor Soap is made 
of goat tallow, olive oil and soda. Transparent Soaps are those 
which have been dissolved in alcohol. Fine Toilet Soaps are 
made with as little alkali as possible, of almond, palm or olive 
oil, suet, lard, etc., colored and perfumed. 

Shaving Soaps and Creams are made either with soda or pot- 
ash, of fine tallow or cocoanut oil, which has the property of 
making a strong lather. Mottled Soaps owe their variegations 
of color to the use of iron oxides. It is said that these cannot be 
effectively applied if the soap contains an excess of water, and 
that more skill is required to make good blue mottled soap than 
any other. The more any soap is worked over, or remelted, 
cooled, etc., the better it becomes. 

A l¥ide Range of Clioice. 

There is a great variety of soaps upon the market, and language 
has been ransacked to find appropriate names for them. Among 
them are "Family," "Laundry," "Ivory," "Best Soap," 
"Electric," "Ozone," "Borax," "Sand Soap," "mlverSoap," 
" Sapolio," etc., and many scouring and detergent articles, as 
"Pearline," " Soapine," "Scourene," " Washing Compound," 
'* Washing Crystal," etc. 

In Toilet Soaps there is an equally wide range of choice, em- 
bracing every color and variegation of color, and every perfume 
that is agreeable to the smell. Soaps are also charged with dis- 
infecting substances, as carbolic acid, etc., and variously medi- 
cated with sulphur, camphor, glycerine, and other materiala for 
SQfteflijlg and healing the skin. , 



A FAMILY GUIDE. ** 

STARCH. 

LSundiy starch is mostly made from corn. The grain is crushed 
and fermented to a degree, when the starch is washed out and al- 
lowed to settle in large vats. The best qualities are washed and 
settled again and again ; the number of washings grading the 
strength, purity and cost. Potato starch is more costly than corn 
starch, and, as it gives a softer finish to fabrics, is chiefly used by 
manufacturers. Corn starch for culinary purposes is thoroughly 
washed, purified and deodorized. Laundry starch should never 
be eaten. 

The best laundry starch is in large, hard, flinty crystals; such 
indicate a stronger starch, containing less moisture than that with, 
smaller soft crystals. Laundry starch comes in bulk or boxes, 
and in paper packages. There are many fancy proprietary brands 
of starch, as "Ivory," "Ivorine," "Gloss," "Satin Gloss,.'^ 
"Silver Gloss, " ' 'Gloss Polish, " ' 'Elastic, " etc. Some of them 
are powdered, and contain borax, wax, or gum, etc., and are 
scented with winter-green, etc. Such come higher than the better 
grades of laundry starch in crystals, but it is a question if they 
axe proportionately superior for family use. Starch polishes^ 
are preparations of spermaceti, wax, or paraflfine. 

Blueing (l<aundry). 

This article may be had in balls, powders, or in a liquid fdrai. 
tTiere are a goodly number of proprietary brands, some of witicJli 
give a tint which appears somewhat greenish when placed by the^ 
side of a pure and delicate blue. The coloring principle is usually 
indigo, Prussian blue, or the favorite ultramarine. The most sat- 
isfactory laundry blueing is that which is really and intensely blue 
in- tint, and which is most completely soluble in water, so. that- it 
will be well distributed and not make the clothes look btreake^. 
Candles. 

Ila some sections, candles form an important article of trade, 
they are now made in a great variety of exquisite tints by the ftse 
of analine colors of various sizes and weights, and with piatent 
self-fitting ends. The more costly kinds are made of spermaceti, 



56 grocers' goods : 

■wax, stearine, paraffine, etc., down to the pressed, adamantine, 
and common tallow candles. Some carry embossed and handsome 
decalcomania decorations and are either white, blue, green, pink, 
yellow, red, etc., or assorted. There are ''Boudoir," "Piano," 
"Cleopatra," "Cable," and "Flag " candles, wax "Night 
Lights," "Christmas Tree Candles," and wax "Gas 
Lighters," warranted not to drip. 

Brushes. — No domestic article is in more common use than the 
brush in its various forms. The best bristles come from the wild 
hog of Russia and Poland. The whitest and finest are used for 
paint, tooth, hat, hair, and clothes brushes. Some brushes are 
made with one tuft only, like the paint brush, others with many. 
The best are "Wire drawn;" that is, the tufts are bent double to 
form loops through which wires are passed, to draw and hold them 
firmly into the holes of the base. Others have the tufts wedged 
or glued in. Brushes are made with long and ■'^hort handles, 
and of every conceivable form and quality, from "Sink scrubs" 
upward. 

Brooms. — The finer the corn the better the broom. A natural 
green color indicates toughness and flexibility, and such corn is 
better than that which is of a sickly yellow or lemon color. But 
the latter is often given the desired green tint by artificial color- 
ings. Plain or unpainted handles are best, good brooms weigh 
25 to 30 2D:unds to the dozen, but extra large and heavy ones are 
made weighing 40 to 50 pounds. 

Washboards. — There are fifty or more varieties of these "Mon- 
day Morning Pianos." Metal scrubbers are preferred to wood, 
which is liable to splinter, wound the fingers, and tear the clothes. 
And a plain crimp is better for fabrics than a rougher crimp, al- 
though the latter may extract the dirt quicker. A favorite variety 
have adjustable chest protectors. Clothes pins are of two kinds, 
the old fashioned and the spring clasp. The latter are little used. 

Mops. —There are two kinds in the stores; one of twisted twjne^ 
which is generally thought to be most durable, the other of cot- 
ton and less expensive. 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 57 

Stove Polish. — This is chiefly plumbago or black lead. 
Among the favorite brands are "Dixon," "Rising Sun," "A. 
B. C," etc. There is also a liquid preparation or "Enamel," said 
to give a good polish without dust or smell, and with little 
labor. 

Blacking. — The best is that which will, without injury to the 
leather, most easily and quickly give a handsome and durable 
polish. Besides the excellent domestic varieties, there are the 
French Marcerou, and Jacquot's, in tin boxes, which are reliable 
and but little more expensive, and the old time Day & Martin's 
blacking in stone jugs. For ladies' use there are many domestic 
and imported shoe dressings in liquid form, which require no 
rubbing. 

Matches. — Common sulphur matches are made both square and 
round, and come packed in various kinds of boxes and papers. 
Parlor matches, of American, Swedish, and other foreign manu- 
facture, are made without sulphur; and chloride of potash, anti- 
mony, etc., are often used instead of phosphorus. The splints are 
sometimes soaked in oi' or paraffine to make them burn freely. Safe- 
ty Matches have the phosphorus on sand paper and the other ma- 
terials on the ends of the splints, and neither can be ignited except 
by friction with the other. There are many kinds of wax 
tapers, "Flaming Lights," etc. 

Seeds. — The raising of seeds has become a large industry. 
Leading producers make careful tests of all their seeds, and even 
ofEer valuable prizes for the best vegetables and flowers grown 
from them. Some grocers lay in every scascn a fresh and full 
supply of all the seeds used in the garden or field, and they are 
almost always reliable. 

Birdseed, Food, etc. — Canary seed comes both in bulk and 
pound package?, either alone or mixed with millet, German rape 
seed, etc. ; many packages contain a piece of cuttle fish bone. 
There are bird gravel, bird pepper, mocking bird pood in 
bottles, etc. 



4S^ grocers' G00t>S : 

lufSBCT Powder. — There are a number of these vegetable jn*ep* 
arations which are effective, if genuine and unadulterated, «« tlie 
Persiajj, Buhach (or Californian), Dalmatian, etc. 

Disinfectants. — Chloride of Lime in various sized packages of 
tin and paper, and various liquid preparations in bottles and kegs, 
are put up for domestic use. 

Pails. — Ordinary water pails have either 2 or 3 hoops. Those 
not painted on the inside are preferred. Wood pulp pails give 
good satisfaction, and a new pail with sunken hoops is just com- 
ing into market. 

Grocers' Sundries. 

Among other articles sometimes kept by the groc^ v, may be 
mentioned : Irish Moss, Anatto and other butter colorings, Lic- 
orice, Chewing Gum, Fruit Juices, Hops, Rennet, Ink, Paper and 
Pens, Pencils, Slates, Mucilago, Playing Cards, Beeswax, Cement, 
Concentrated Potash, Lye, Lime, Chalk, Oils, Kerosene. Dyes, 
Paints dry and mixed; Rosin, Tar, Turpentine, White Lead, 
Varnishes, Indigo, Glue, Putty, Powder, Shot, Caps, Wads, Axle 
Grease, Curry Combs, Condition Powders, Can Openers, Cord- 
age, Coffee Mills, Bath Brick, Polishing Powder, Wick, Baskets, 
Boxes in Nests, Tubs, Dippers, Measures, Lemon Squeezers, 
Mouse Traps, Selves, Feather Dusters, Rolling Pins, Ax Han- 
dles, Tacks, Crockery, Glass and Stone Ware, 

Borax, Bay Rum, Ammonia, Sponges, Camphor, Sal Soda, 
Perfumes, Plasters, Fly Killer Paper, Witch Hazel, and a great 
variety of standard drugs and proprietary medicines. 



A FAMILY GUIDE. 50 



WINES AND LIQUORS. 



While there are some grocers who, for various reasons do not 
handle these products, there are al=o many who keep for the 
family use of their customers a full line of choice wines, malt 
beverages, and distilled liquors. This work would therefore be 
incomplete without reference to these articles, and it is believ- 
ed that the few facts given below concerning them will be found 
interesting and instructive. 

WINES. 

Pure wine is merely grape juice fermented. When the sugar 
of the grape is wholly or nearly converted by fermentation into 
natural vinous spirits or alcohol, the result is a stii.l or dry 
WINE. If the sugar is very abundant, as in overripe grapes, and 
a considerable portion of it remains unfermented, a sweet wine 
like Tokay or Malmsey is produced. When fermentation has pro- 
ceeded to a certain stage and the liquid is bottled, so that it con- 
tinues to ferment and produce carbonic acid gas, the result is an 
effervescent wine, as sparkling champagne. If, during fermen- 
tation, the process be arrested by the addition of alcohol, certain 
vegetable substances are retained in the liquid, and such, wines as 
PORT and SHERRY are the product. 

Composition of Wines. 

Wines, as well as all varieties of malt and spiiituous liquors, owe 
their intoxicating qualities to alcohol. But the medical and die- 
tetic qualities of wine are not solely due to it; a mixture of water 
and alcohol, or whiskey of equal strength, has a very different 
effect on the animal economy. Pure wines contain also natural 
acids, sugar, ethers, albumen, phosphates, etc. Their value is, 
however, mainly determined by their "Bouquet" or flavor, pro- 
duced by substances natural to the grapes, heightened and r§n» 
der^ more delicate by fermentatipn, 



60 grocers' goods: 

Alcoliol and Acids In Wine. 

The quantity of alcohol in natural wine from grapes, varies 
between 5 and 12 per cent. ; the quantity of free acid from 3 to 7 
per cent. If more of the latter be present, the wine tastes excess- 
ively sour, and is less easily digested ; but some acid in wine 
is essential, and contributes much to its flavor and virtues. Be- 
sides the natural acids which exist in the juice of the grape, cheap 
and inferior wines often contain, also, the hurtful acids of spoiling, 
showing the approach to vinegar. 

"WINES OF THE WORLD. 

France, 

Even a bird's-eye glance at the wines of the world, might easily 
fill a volume. There are the superb French wines of Burgundy 
and Champagne, which ancient Provinces are now almost one 
splendid, continuous vineyard; and the Clarets, Sauternes, etc. 
of Bordeaux and Lauguedoc. Medoc and Kaut Medoc are known 
to wine lovers everywhere, for here are the famous vineyards 
of the Chateau Lafitte, owned by Baron Rothschild; the Chateaux 
Margeaux, Latour, and many others. 

The Wines of Germany. 

The principal wine districts of Germany are the valleys of the 
Rhine and Moselle and their tributaries, whence come the well- 
known Hock and the red and white wines, which, though some- 
times rather thin and deficient in flavor, are never colored, plas- 
tered, boiled, or have spirits added to them, and are therefore 
natural and wholesome. Here also is the renowned Johannisberg 
Castle vineyard, owned by the family of Prince Meternich. Every 
bottle of this wine bears his family arms, and it is the beverage of 
Emperors and Kings. By reason of its exquisite "Bouquet" it is 
pronounced "The linest and costliest drink on earth." 
W^ines of Hungary, Italy, Spain, etc. 

Hungary sends forth her "Imperial" opal-tinted Tokay wines, 
made of overripe grapes, from which the juices are never squeezed 
but allowed to drop; other Hungarian wines are as dry as those of 
France, as mellow as those of Germany, and more fragrant than 



A FAMILY GUIDK. $1 

the choicest of Spain. Italy, Spain and Portugal produce wines 
of much repute, but neither of the latter two countries make 
sparkling wines ; they supply Sherry and Port which generally have 
spirits added to them. 

American "Wines. 
The wines of California and other sections of the United States 
are rapidly rising in popular estimation, and the time is probably 
not far distant when they will rival those of any part of the world. 
The consumption of domestic vintages increases with the constant 
improvement in their quality, which follows the slowly acquired 
knowledge, as to the best methods of turning the luscious juices 
of our own abundant grapes into wine. 
Champagne. 
The French make four varieties of champagne, viz. : Non-M6us- 
SEUX, Cremant, Mousseux, and Grand-Mousseux. The first 
is fully fermented wine, fined, drawn into bottles, and allowed to 
rest a long time. Cremant is moderately sparkling. Moussedx 
throws out its cork with an audible report and begins gently to 
overflow. Grand-Mousseux pops out the cork with a loud 
noise and overflows with much foam, as it has the pressure of five 
atmospheres. A sound, rather dry champagne is said to be one 
of the best of remedies for impaired digestion. 
Good and Poor Champagne. 
Good champagne throws up for a long time after being opened 
a continuous stream of small, sparkling bubbles of gas : 
"Each sunset ray, that mixed by chance 

With the wine's diamond, showed 
How sunbeams may be taught to dance." 
Even after hours of exposure, when it has lost all its excess of 
carbonic acid, good champagne still retains the characteristic fla- 
vor of true wine, while an inferior sparkling wine becomes, after 
exposure, almost as insipid as a mixture of sugar and water. The 
best are made from the first pressings of the grape. Those made 
from a third, fourth or fifth pressing require the addition of su- 
gar and are cloying and far inferior in flavor. Imitation cham- 
pao-nes are made by sweetening any ordinary still wines or cider 
and charging them with carbonic acid gas. 



^ grocers' GOODS : 

jnCAIiT lilCtUORS. 

Malt liquors, prdperly so called, should be made only of maltwf 
barley, hops, yeast and water, but other materials are also used. 
Porter is a beer of a high percentage of alcohol and made from 
malt dried at a high temperature, which gives it its dark color. 
Ale is pale beer with considerable alcohol and made of pale malt,^ 
with more hop extract than porter. 

As every per cent, of sugar in the malt yields by fermentatioir 
about half a per cent, of alcohol, it is evident that ale, porter, and- 
lager beer are stronger or weaker, as more or less malt is used in 
making them. 

AL.COHOL. IN BEERS. 

Beers are stimulating from their alcohol and refreshing- from 
their carbonic acid, besides being tonic and somewhat nutritive. 
The oil of the hops gives them aroma and the lupulin they contain 
soothes the nerves. Their taste is vinous, sweetish, and bitter at the 
same time. The quantity of alcohol in malt liquors was given by 
Prof, Englehardt, as the result of analyses made for the N. Y. 

State Board of Health, in 1885, as follows. 

Per cent of 
alcohol by- 
weight. 

Lager, average 192 samples 3. 754 

Ale " 199 samples 4.623 

Porter " 70 samples 4.463 

Weiss Beer " 28 samples 2. 356 

Beer Adiilteratious. 

It has been popularly supposed that beer is much adulterated. 
But the result of many analyses made by Mr. C. A. Crampton, for 
the Department of Agriculture at Washington, last year, show 
him '' That beer is as free from adulteration as most other articles 
of consumption, and more so than some." The analyst found 
that, practically, no foreign bitters other than hops were used; 
but he also found that nearly one quarter of the samples analyzed 
contained, as a preservative, the unwholsome salicylic acid. Thia 
powerful drug is also largely used in the manufacture of cheap 
wines, etc., and the practice should be rigidly prohibit^. 



4. FAMILY GUIDE. ^ 

Ginger Ale is made by fermenting sweetened water, to which 
extract of ginger has been added, to such a degree as to generate 
carbonic acid gas and become effervescent. It is a heathful and 
agreeable beverage, containing some alcohol and being slightly 
stimulant. 

Good Cider contains 3 to 5 per cent, of alcohol. It is made 
from the fermented juice of apples. Many grown people acquired 
their fondness for cider on the -'Old Farm " in childhood. It is 
sold by grocers in bulk, and is also bottled extensively and sold »s 
"Champagne cider," and quite often as champagne. 
DISTIL. l.e:i> liquors. 

The disagreeable taste of freshly distilled ardent spirits is 
due to the presence of fusil oil and other empyreumatic substances, 
which time alone can transform into harmless ethers which smell 
and taste agreeably, and produce an exhilaration over and above 
that of the alcohol which holds them in solution. Spirits can be 
distilled from any vegetable matter which will yield alcohol, yet 
many substances yield only a rasping, nauseous or flavorless liquor, 
which age does not improve. To some of these products, artificial 
flavors and color are given and the imitation articles are thus 
placed on the market. But true whiskey, brandy, etc., have a 
specific and original flavor of their own, and contain vegetable 
oils and acids. 

Alcoliol in liiquors. 

The following table shows the proportion of alcohol (by volume) 
in the various liquors. 

Volume of Alco- 
hol, per cent. 

Cogfiac Brandy 55 to 70 

Arrack, made from Rice 60 to 61 

Whiskey, American 60 

*' Scotch 50 to 51 

" Irish 50 

Rum 49 7 

Gin 47 — 8 

Bbandy.— Thisis made from wine ; that from white grapes d« 
preferred and it requires about seven bottles of wine to make one 



64 grocers' goods: 

of brandy. Even the best Cognac is burning and rough until kept 
for two or three years, and it improves with increased age, until, 
when thirty or forty years old, it develops a flavor somewhat 
similar to that of vanilla. 

Whiskey is a spirit distilled either from fermented malt, rye, 
barley, oats, wheat or corn. The very best and sweetest grain is 
only used for making good whiskey. American whiskey is more 
easily obtained pure than j^erhaps any spirituous liquor and is 
therefore more reliable in this country. The name whiskey is a 
corruption of the Erse and Irish word Usquebaugh^ "Water o^ Life," 
the French Eau cle Vie. 

Rum is made from distilled molasses and skimmings from the 
boiling sugar. 

Gin is distilled from unmalted grain, the product being recti- 
fied and flavored with juniper berries. 

Favorite Brands. 

Champagnes come in quarts and pints, Sec or "Dry," "Extra 
Dry," etc. Among favorite Brands are those of Heidseick, Mumm, 
Roederer, Cliquot, Bouche, Morizet, Pommery, Delbeck, etc. ; the 
American Champagnes of California, Urbanna, Pleasant Valley, 
etc., besides various imitation sparkling wines. Among favorite 
Clarets are St. Julien, Medoc, St. Emillion, St. Estephe, Floirac, 
Pontet Canet, Chateaux Margaux, Lafitte, La Rose, etc. ; also the 
Sauternes and White Wines of Graves; Barsac, Chateaux, 
Yquem, Latour, etc. There are the Johannisberger, Hockheimer, 
Rudescheimer, Marcobrunner of the Rhine; the Italien 
Capri, Falerno and Chianti; Port, Sherry and Madeira of various 
brands; and Claret, Port, Sherry, Muscatel, Angelica, Tokay, and 
other vintages of American make. 

Cordials include Anisette, Benedictine, Curagoa, Chartreuse, 
Maraschino, Kirchwasser, Kummel, Chocolat, Ginger, Raspberry, 
Rock and Rye, and Absynthe, There are Ales, Porter, Stout, 
Lager Beer, Peach and Apple cider, Orgeat, Soda and Sarsaparilla. 
Favorite Brandies are those of Otard, Heunessy, Martelle, Robin, 
Seignette, Dupin, and good California Brandy; also Blackberry, 
Cherry, Ginger, Peach and Cider Brandies. Besides scores of 
fine American Whiskeys, there are the Scotch Thistle and 
Irish Cruiskeen Lawn; Old Tom, London, Holland and Geneva 
Gins; St. Croix, Jamaica and N. E. Rums. Many Grocers keep 
also a supply of Natltial and Artificial Mineral Waters, as 
the Congress, Hathorn,rtc.,of Saratoira; Carlsbad, Seltzer, Clysniic, 
Vichy, ApoUonaris, Williams Quelle, Lithia, Hunyadi; and a 
ariety of Bitter Waters. 



M 



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